


Star Fleet Academy (Aka. Sulu and Chekov in the early years)

by suluismyspirit



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Minor Violence, Randomness, Star Fleet Academy, chekov has a hard time, so many POV changes, young chekov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 03:53:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 32,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9217580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suluismyspirit/pseuds/suluismyspirit
Summary: Let's take a trip through what some of Chekov's days at the Academy might have been like.Also known as, the result of my friend Augs and myself writing for our favorite ST friends.





	1. Chapter 1

Navigation was not Sulu’s favorite class, but he didn’t hate it either. He’d just finished advanced Botany, which was by far his favorite, though he didn’t see himself making a career out of it. He had advanced combat later this afternoon, and really just wanted to head back to his dorm and nap for a bit. The class room had a low rumble going on as the students talked with each other, the instructor was still drawing up a list of names of people being partnered together for the upcoming project. It was supposed to be a large percentage of their grade, so Hikaru really hoped he got paired with someone who knew what they were doing. It really sucked to be the one pulling all the weight. Everyone settled down as the instructor stood up and moved to the front of the room, reading off names in a bored tone. Sulu toyed with his stack of books, listening for his name. He was grateful that class was over after this, so that the partners could work out who was doing what and get a start on the project. His name was called along with Chekov, Pavel something. He hadn’t quite memorized who everyone was yet. He slouched over ontop his books as the instructor finished, students milling around with their partners. Figuring it would be easier for this Chekov guy to find him (because somehow Hikaru was the only Asian in this particular class), Sulu remained in his seat.  
  
It was tough being the youngest Starfleet officer ever. He could hold his own well enough, but apparently the other students couldn't as he was almost constantly being asked to do their homework. He had learned the hard way that it was best to just do it and not ask questions. The work didn't bother him that much since he didn't have to waste his time on the friends he didn't have, but what did bother him was that the others took advantage of him. They should be doing their own work. What good was it if they graduated and didn't have the knowledge they should have? What would happen when they go out into a field and a problem arises? They wouldn't be able to handle it. Still, as much as it grieved young Chekov, there wasn't much he could do about it. He wasn't exactly a bodybuilder like most of the other men, so he couldn't hold his own in a fight. He had tried going to his teachers a few times, but once his classmates found that out things had gone... unfavorably. Let's just say he spent the next few weeks sporting an arm cast.  
  
Nowadays he knew to just do what was asked and move on. It was navigation class now, his favorite. He was considering being a navigator, as it took more brains than brawn. This was the class he actually relaxed in and enjoyed. Until he realized they would be working in pairs. The name called accompanying his was unknown to him and he sincerely hoped this Hikaru Sulu guy would be nice. As the others started to mill about, Chekov gathered up his books and made his way to a man who remained seated. He had Asian features and Pavel could only guess this was Hikaru. "Sulu?" he inquired quietly, painfully aware of the uniform that hung off his shaking body.  
  
Sulu looked up as a scrawny kid approached, blinking in surprise. That…wasn’t what he was expecting. He lifted an eyebrow slightly, but shook it off, standing up and gathering his books. “That’s me.” He said, voice chipper as he grinned at him. “Come on Chekov, let’s go.” He held his books under one arm, swinging the other over Chekov’s shoulder as he headed out the door. Most of the pairs where remaining in the classroom, and Sulu wasn’t going to try and talk over them all.  
  
Chekov looked up with wide eyes as Sulu stood up. He was taller than he had imagined. He silently followed the man to the door, trying to steady his nerves. Sulu seemed nice enough with that friendly tone, but one could never be too sure. He hesitated some at the door, glancing back at the other students, but before he had a chance to do anything more, an arm landed around his shoulders. Chekov couldn't help but flinch and breathe in sharply. The arm felt heavy, like it was crushing him, but he wasn't sure what would happen if he pulled away so he simply tried to shrink down smaller, walking stiffly beside Hikaru. "V-vhere are ve going?" he asked, inwardly cringing at both the thick accent and the slight stutter.  
  
Sulu tilted his head a little, glancing down at the kid, concentrating on his words and not really noticing how he’d reacted. It took him a second to work out the accent, he silently congratulated himself on what a great idea it had been to not stay in the classroom. He’d have hated to have to ask Chekov to repeat himself a million times. Kid would probably start thinking Sulu was a complete moron if that happened…  
  
Sulu let Chekov go as they reached the doors of the building, heading outside. “Anywhere but that noisy room.” He laughed, shifting his books a little and flipping open the top notebook that held the required information for the project. He slowed down as he flipped through it, looking for the project information. The courtyard was fairly empty, most everyone was in class right now, so Sulu headed over to one of the tables with a glance at Chekov to make sure he was following along. Yes, it would be much easier to talk out here, then Sulu could go nap. Pleased with that plan, he dumped his books down, hopping up to sit atop the table, feet resting on the bench.  
  
As soon as Sulu let his arm drop, Chekov let out a sigh of relief. He moved out of the door with a quiet 'thank you' and slowed to trail behind Sulu. He was secretly pleased that the Asian didn't ask him to repeat as everyone usually did, whether it was because they legitimately didn't understand him or they were just mocking him.  
  
He followed Sulu to the bench and while the older man jumped up on top, Chekov situated himself on the actual bench, placing his books on the table. He stretched his arms before grabbing the one needed. It was a hassle carrying the textbooks and supplies around all day. They obviously didn't take small arms into the equation when printing. It didn't take long to find the designated project and Pavel was soon getting himself ready to read. He laid his elbows on the pages to keep them open and laid his head in his hands. He wasn't exactly sure what Sulu had in mind as to what they were going to do first, but Chekov was content to simply sit and read.  
  
“Alright, so… looks like we are supposed to deal with the Varen nebula…” He frowned reading over the instructions. They needed to make a report on the specifications of the type of ship that would be best suited for a recon mission and the necessary equipment. Then they were required to come up with a flight plan and alternative course headings for this theoretical mission. Sulu let out a little sigh, thinking. “So, I’ll deal with the ship classification and equipment. You think you can do the other two topics?” He glanced down at Chekov beside him, nudging the kid slightly with a foot to get his attention. The kid looked really young, and while Sulu was still a bit concerned about getting stuck with most of the workload, he figured he’d give Chekov a chance.  
  
Chekov snapped his head upwards, looking at Sulu with fearful eyes. He relaxed some when he realized he was just talking about the project. So he got flight plan and alternate course headings. That was fine with him, but he was genuinely surprised that Hikaru had given him a choice, much less actually saying he would do some of the work. All group projects he had been in in the past had him do it all. This Sulu guy was new, obviously. Making sure he had heard right, Chekov tilted his head and studied his partners face. "So you vant me to do zhe flight plan and routes. Anyzhing else?"  
  
Once again Sulu stared silently for a moment, working out what Chekov had said, frowning a tiny bit. Accents were hard to get used to… “Uh, no. That should be good.” He finally answered, glancing over at the large clock in the middle of the plaza. He still had a couple hours left before his next class. He scribbled down some notes, a few vague idea’s he’d need to follow up on. “I’ve got a free period Friday, so we can meet up and go over what we’ve got. Or Saturday afternoon? I can probably convince Terra to leave a classroom unlocked for us so we won’t be bothered. And we can use the computers.” He paused, thinking about it as he gathered his books. Yeah, that would actually probably work best. He looked at Chekov as he stood up. “Saturday actually works best for me. Meet me there a little before noon?” He gestured to the building in question. “Room 22A.”  
  
Chekov kept his eyes on Sulu as he started to pack up, tensing some as the Asian stood up. One thing he knew about him even though they had just met was that Sulu liked to talk. He was rambling on now, about dates and such. Before he had a chance to suggest any dates himself (not that he would have anyway), Saturday at noon was chosen. Chekov nodded, forcing a smile. "Saturday ees fine." he stated, rising to his feet as well. He nervously stuck his hand out for Sulu to shake, knowing that it was proper to greet and leave officers in higher rank than you that way.  
  
Sulu grinned, glad they’d got that all worked out, and shook the offered hand. It was a little weird, but hey. They all had their quirks. “Don’t be late.” He laughed, tossing the joke over his shoulder and he turned and headed to his dorm. He’d have an hour to sleep before his next class if he hurried.


	2. Chapter 2

Hetzi was coming out of the building, his own class over, when he spotted his favorite Russian. The brat was listening to some guy talk, though the conversation was obviously over as the Asian guy walked away. Smirk slowly forming, Hetzi glanced around, books held under one arm as he jogged over. “Hey red.” He commented, slipping up behind Chekov and wrapping a tight arm around his shoulders, pulling him over roughly. Made of near pure muscle and tough skin, Hetzi’s race was generally taller than the average human, but he towered over Chekov.

Chekov paled some at Sulu's comment as he watched the man leave. Don't be late? That could only mean one thing in Pav's book...  
Before he could dwell on it further, however, he heard an all too familiar voice from behind and an arm wrap around his shoulders. This arm was considerably rougher than the last and he let out a small squeak, the breath going out of him. It felt like his lungs stopped working but he managed to choke out a small 'hello, Hetzi'.

Hetzi chuckled, shaking Chekov slightly. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. I thought we were pals?” The tone was mocking as he released Chekov, circling around to look down on him with a frown. “Aren’t we pals?”

It was hard to focus on what Hetzi was saying. All Chekov could sense was the shaking and arm wrapped around him. As soon as he was released he stepped back and took a few deep breaths, carefully watching the other. He shrunk back some, situating himself so that his back was leaning against the table. "Sure ve are pals," he replied shakily. It wasn't necessarily true, but it was always best to stay on Hetzi's good side.

Hetzi snorted, shaking his head. “I’m not so sure you mean it.” He shuffled his books, pulling out a folder and shoving it hard enough into Chekov’s chest. His eyes narrowed, glaring at Chekov. “It’s due Friday, you better bring it back here before then. And it better be done _right_.” He ordered, pushing Chekov back harshly and smirking. “Because we’re pals, I’ll give you til Friday morning. 0800, don’t be late.” Threat delivered, he didn’t spare the kid another glance as he walked off, knowing full well his little Russian would be there with the assignment finished.

A wave of fear washed through him as Hetzi spoke again. He thought for sure something was coming, but it was only a folder. He grunted as it was thrust into his chest. It started to slip to the ground but before it could Chekov had grabbed it and was now hugging it to his chest. Friday, okay, he could do that. He nodded vigorously, making sure he got the message across that it would be done. The next move caught him off guard and he fell back, falling against the bench. He watched Hetzi leave with great relief from his spot on the ground. Getting up, he quickly gathered all the books (and one extra folder) and started to make his way to his room, hoping for some peace and quiet the rest of the day.

**(AN: Just a quick little skip to Friday)**

Hetzi lounged lazily on the bench, back resting against the table behind him as he watched a few cadets here and there walking between buildings. He glanced at his watch, it was very nearly 0800. He crossed his ankles, looking up at the clouds. He wasn’t due to class until 1100, so he was hardly concerned. Actually, he’d find it very fun teaching the brat a lesson for making him late. He could do with some stress relief in any case, perhaps he’d have some fun either way. He glanced at his watch again, impatient. He had better things to do.

It took Chekov an all-nighter and the skipping of a meal or two, but Hetzi's work was finally finished. He hadn't even started on his own homework yet and he was certain Sulu would be mad. But he figured he'd work on that as soon as he was done with Hetzi and if he worked fast enough, he could get it done. A glance at the clock told him that it was nearly 0800 already. He jumped up, hastily gathering the work and placing it back into the folder. He was going to be late. Pavel busted out of his room and raced for the door. It would only take a few minutes to get there, but he was really pushing it. With a sinking heart, he immediately caught sight of a very impatient looking Hetzi waiting for him. Panting, he made his way forward, pausing in front of him. He held the folder out, trying to force out a calm smile. "Eet ees done. Eweryzhing ees good and completed. Ewen deed a few extra details for you, too."

Hetzi stood up slowly, stretched and watching Chekov with a sadistic type of glee. He took the folder in one hand, immediately grabbing Chekov round the neck with the other arm, dragging him into a painful headlock. He moved forward, dragging him round the side of the building. “You don’t mind if I look over it, do you?” He asked, not waiting for or caring about a response as he shoved Chekov against the side of the building and started flipping through the folder.

Chekov let out a pained squeak and struggled against Hetzi's grasp. He should've known this was going to happen but something inside him was hoping it wouldn't have. The air rushed out of him as he was thrown against the wall. He fell to the floor and lay stunned for a few seconds. Instinctively he curled into a protective ball, nervously watching Hetzi out of the corner of his eye.

Hetzi nodded at the kids work, it would get him high marks. He smirked, looking down at Chekov before crouching and patting the top of his head roughly. “Good boy, you did do well this time didn’t you.” He took ahold of the collar of Chekov’s shirt dragging him upright and throwing a punch into the kid’s gut, throwing him back down and putting a boot between his shoulders. “Next time, _don’t_ be late. Understand?” He snapped, pressing down a little.

Chekov let out a shaky breath. Hetzi was pleased. Maybe he _would_ get out of it after all. Before that relief could set in, however, he was being dragged up. Pav looked up into Hetzi's eyes, his own holding a mixture of fear and confusion. In the span of a few seconds, pain exploded from his stomach, he was on the ground again, and there was a sharp pain beginning in his shoulder. His arms wrapped around his middle and his face twisted in pain. "I von't!" he gasped, voice shrill and tight.

Hetzi chuckled, smirking down at Chekov and taking a step back. “I’m not certain you’ve really learned your lesson.” He tilted his head, crossing his arms regarding Chekov. He reached down, pulling him up again and pressing him against the wall. “So next time you’re late, a few bruises will be the least of your worries.” He smirked, patting Chekov roughly on the cheek and walking off, much more relaxed.

Chekov winced, straightening enough to look at Hetzi more or less straight on. As soon as the man left, however, Pav doubled over in pain. His insides were screaming, his head was screaming. That wasn't even a bad encounter. With the mixture of no sleep and little food, however, he felt like absolute crap. He waited a few minutes for the pain to subside enough so that he could walk properly, took a deep breath, and made his way back out. He looked around, half hoping someone had witnessed what had happened so that they could help, and half hoping they didn't so that no one knew how weak he really was. He could take the pain. It was no big deal. At least, that was what he kept telling himself...


	3. Chapter 3

Sulu was walking with one of his friends, heading toward his own dorm room to try and get some work done before his afternoon classes. He caught sight of a familiar scrawny kid. He laughed at something his friend said, attention breaking from Chekov for a moment, giving his friend a tiny shove towards his room with a joke and a laugh, then jogging over to Chekov. “Hey.” he grinned at Chekov, glancing over his shoulder at a shouted comment about homework from his friend. Chuckling and shaking his head slightly, he looked back at Chekov. “Your room’s here too? Not sure how I missed that.”

After that little confrontation with Hetzi, Chekov had been heading quietly back to his room. He jumped at a burst of laughter from the side. His head whipped around and his gaze landed on Sulu and another classmate. They were laughing and having a good time, pushing each other around some. It made him nervous when people did that.

He didn't realize he was staring until Hikaru came over with a big grin. Chekov greeted the man with a small wave, one arm clutching his stomach. The Russian hesitated as Sulu looked back at his friend, speaking up once he turned back to him. "Yeah," he replied, eyes darting over as some people passed. "I vas just going to vork on our project." he winced slightly. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned that he hadn't started yet. Maybe Sulu wouldn't take it that way, though. Hopefully.

Sulu tilted his head, grin turning a bit downward. Yeah, the project… He hadn’t exactly gotten much or anything done on that yet. His other classes had taken up a lot of his time, and he’d been helping out with Jale’s assignment. Which he was supposed to be meeting her soon actually. “To be honest, I haven’t got much done on that either.” He commented, letting out a little huff of laughter and running a hand through his hair.

Chekov held his breath as Sulu's smile faded, half expecting an outburst of some kind. The statement that followed surprised him, as it was also followed with a laugh. He had to admit that he felt better that Hikaru hadn't done much either, but he also felt a pang of guilt. Was he supposed to do something more and Sulu didn't want to outright say anything? Pavel frowned some, worried about this new predicament. "Eet's okay," he said quietly, looking up at the man. "Eet'll get done."

Sulu tilted his head, brow furrowing a bit in confusion at Chekov. He didn’t know the guy very well, but he seemed a bit off. Someone shouting his name distracted him, however, and he didn’t have a chance to ask.

A female with greenish blue skin trotted over to the two of them, tugging on Sulu’s sleeve with a smile. She glanced briefly at Chekov, dismissing him a moment later. “Suus, come on. You _promised_ to help me with this assignment.” She pouted at him, pushing him a little and he laughed, good mood returning easily.

“Yeah yeah, I know, I’m coming.” He waved her off, turning to Chekov. “Sorry, that’s Jale, I did promise I’d help her. But don’t worry, I’ll get my part of the project done. Tomorrow, room 22A, don’t forget.” He said, wanting to reassure Chekov that he wasn’t going to ignore his work. Jale reached over, grabbing Sulu’s arm and pulling, the Asian going with her with a wave goodbye to Chekov.

Chekov slowly lowered his head as Sulu studied him. His skin started to itch and his heart started thumping. Fear of the unknown and what would happen next started to creep in. His mind rushed with ideas and thoughts and amongst it all a shout happened and brought him back to the surface. He let out a small, startled squeak, eyes widening as Jale ran up. He had seen her around before but never spoke to her. Then again, he wasn't comfortable speaking to anyone nowadays.

He watched them exchange a few words, silently wondering if this would be a good time to leave or not, when Sulu suddenly turned back to him. Chekov nodded and returned an uncertain wave as the two of them left, before continuing to his dorm. He'd get his part done? That was a strange thing to say. Even so, Pavel knew he had another night full of homework ahead.

**(AN: Another time skip to Saturday.)**  
  
  
Sulu had an easy enough time convincing his friend to leave a classroom unlocked for him and Chekov to use. Ending up with a bit more free time than he’d anticipated, Sulu decided to get an early start on the project, he hadn’t gotten as much of his part completed as he’d have liked during the week anyway. He arrived in room 22A at around 1045, starting up the computer and spreading the ship designs out over a couple desks. He worked on making notes on the designs, pros and cons for each along with a few notations for supplementary equipment that would be needed if that type were chosen. He hardly noticed the time going by and he was surprised when he looked at the clock to see it was very nearly noon. He stretched, plopping down in the instructor’s chair. It was surprisingly comfy and he slouched down in it lazily. He swiveled a bit, spinning around once and chuckling. Shaking his head at himself, because he had work to do, he got up. He moved to stand in the middle of his spread out ship specs, crossing his arms and frowning at them, trying to decide which one would really work best.

Chekov jolted up as his alarm woke him from fitful dreams. He yawned and looked around at the sprawled papers on his desk. He got up and stretched, feeling a bit sore from sitting in the same place all night. His eyes strayed to the clock and he nearly screamed. It was a little after 1200 and he was late. Again, the second day in a row. As fast as possible he gathered up the needed papers and books and shoved them in a bag. He glanced in the mirror, frowning at the pale kid staring back at him with dark, tired eyes. There wasn't any time to care about his appearance, however, as he bolted out the door and down to room 22A.

Chekov started to slow as he approached the room, trying to calm his racing heart and hitched breath. It would be okay, it would be fine, Sulu wasn't Hetzi. Despite his efforts he still walked into the room a trembling mess. He watched Hikaru carefully, tense and ready to run if need be. "S-sorry I'm late..." he said, trying to muster his confidence. Of which he had none at the moment.

Sulu looked up as Chekov came in, hesitating as he took in the kids appearance. He looked terrible… Hikaru stacked two of the specs up, rolling them up and setting them to the side. “You look like you’ve barely slept, too much partying?” He asked teasing, wandering around the desk over to Chekov and giving him a smile. He wasn’t sure whether he should be concerned or irritated, it wasn’t exactly the best of first impressions.

Chekov shook his head. "I don't like parties." he stated simply, trying to remain calm as Sulu came closer. To counter it, Pavel moved around to where Hikaru had been standing a few moments before. "I vas up late studying." he placed his books down on the desk and rubbed his eyes. "I deed vhat you vanted, eef you vant to look eet ower."

Sulu raised an eyebrow, trailing after Chekov. “Sure I can if you want.” He said with a slight shrug, moving next to Chekov and looking at the books curiously. He didn’t particularly want to check over the kids work, though he knew they would need to collaborate and mesh it all together into one presentation at some point. “I’m sure you did fine though if you were up so late working on it. I’ve just about got my side done. Cut it down to three.” He explained, waving a hand at the remaining specs laid out.

Chekov stiffened as Sulu came up next to him, but didn't say anything. He brought out his folder and handed it to the man, before moving to his other side and peering at the specs. Reading over the notes gave him something to focus on so that he wasn't a /complete/ nervous wreck as Sulu read over his stuff. If the man didn't want his help before, he probably would now.

"Eef vhat you hawe here ees correct," he started to say, pointing to the second spec. "I'd say zhis ees zhe one to use."

Sulu accepted the folder, opening it and flipping through it. It all looked good on the surface, so he wasn’t complaining. He glanced up at Chekovs comment, closing the folder. “If it’s correct?” He said, grinning, tone taking on an exaggerated hurt. “Here I was, slaving away for _hours_ working on this and you say ‘if’.”

Chekov winced, hearing the hurt in Sulu's tone. He turned to apologize, but Hikaru was smiling. Chekov blinked, tilting his head in confusion as his eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't tell if the Asian was teasing or not. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment of hesitation, deciding that it was better to apologize even if Sulu wasn't hurt. Then if he _was_ all would be well again.

Sulu tsked at him, shaking his head and putting a hand on Chekov’s shoulder. “I suppose you can make it up to me, and make up for being late, with lunch.” He grinned, chuckling a little. “Room will be empty all day, so we have plenty of time. Bonus, you get to hang out with me all day.” Hikaru didn’t have anything else to do after this, he had no classes and no pressing homework to finish, besides this project. While he didn’t think the kid would really want to spend all day with him, he was slightly hoping because all his other friends were busy. Besides, if they were together all day, it was likely they could actually finish the project ahead of time and give them both some extra time to relax. Karu logic at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Chapters are kinda short, but there's more of them, so win win right?  
> I love comments. Even if you just says Hi. It makes updates happen faster. That's a fact, I swear!


	4. Chapter 4

Chekov inhaled sharply as Sulu placed his hand on his shoulder. Lunch. It was only lunch nothing more. He let out a sigh of relief and nodded, smiling some. This Hikaru guy seemed pretty nice, but there was still room for trouble. "I know just zhe place." There was a small diner downtown that he frequented. The little old lady that ran the shop and him got along pretty well, and nearly every free time he had was spent there either helping her or just chatting. She was really the only real friend he had.

Pavel moved to the side again, pulling out a few books from his backpack as he thought. Hanging out with Sulu all day didn't seem too bad. Maybe if the others saw that he was with someone they wouldn't bother him.

Sulu grinned, delighted at Chekov’s agreement. And he didn’t even have to try and figure out what he wanted to eat, since Chekov had a place in mind. “Perfect.” Sulu agreed, nodding. He shifted a little impatiently. He really was hungry, having skipped breakfast and all. He usually did that, not being a morning person and all. “You all good with going now? We can just leave all this stuff here.”

Chekov snickered quietly at Sulu's suggestion. He had to admit that he was pretty hungry too, but he wasn't about to push Hikaru if he wasn't ready. If he was, however, that was a different story. The only thing that bugged him was leaving the stuff here. What if someone came in and stole all their work? They both worked so hard on it. And he knew some people who would _love_ to get their hands on this stuff. "Yes, I am fine vith going now," he replied, choosing his words carefully. No need in seeming paranoid, despite being heavily so. "But erm, could ve maybe lock zhe door or somezhing? Vhat eef someone comes een vhile ve are gone..."

Sulu scoffed, who would come in here and steal their stuff? But if it made Chekov feel better, sure, whatever. “Yeah, sure kid.” He chuckled, going over to the instructors desk and fishing around in one of the drawers for the spare key he knew his friend kept in there. “…just gotta find the key…” He muttered, sighing at the jumbled mess of objects. No wonder the guy was okay just leaving a key in the drawer. “AH! Found it!” He straightened up, holding the key up triumphantly. “Owe me another one for all that hard work finding it.” He joked, heading out the door and holding it open for Chekov.

Chekov let out a sigh of relief for the fact that Sulu didn't protest. He knew it was a stupid request, but it would put him more at ease. He watched Hikaru dig around in a drawer for a few minutes, flinching at the triumphant yell. Why did people like shouting suddenly?

Walking out the door, he blinked and pondered Sulu's statement. Owe him another one? Hopefully it would just be another lunch, but he decided to keep his guard up just in case.

The diner was only a short walk from the acadamy and they made it there in no time. Chekov breathed deeply as they walked in, the familiar jingling of the bell a cheerful welcome. It smelled like grease and maybe sort of unsanitary, but it was a comforting place to be. He glanced back at Sulu with a genuine smile, waiting to see what his partner's reaction would be.

Sulu enjoyed the walk to the diner, it was a nice day out after all. His first impression of the diner was just a tiny bit unimpressed, it didn’t look like too much on the outside and the inside wasn’t exactly to his taste. Still, it wasn’t terrible and he’d had friends take him to worse places. Going by Chekov’s smile he liked it here, and Sulu returned the expression with a smile of his own. He let Chekov lead the way, never having actually been here before and not sure if they were supposed to wait for a seat or just take one. “So, what’s good?” He asked, looking around for a menu.

Chekov's smile widened as Sulu returned the expression. He led the man to the counter and hopped onto a stool, leaning his elbows on the table. "Eweryzhing," he replied, tone much less tense than it was earlier. A few seconds later a small, older woman hobbled out and approached the two. "Oh, hello there Pavel," she greeted with a friendly smile. Her gaze shifted over to Sulu then, and she leaned over the counter to look at him. "And who might you be?"

Sulu gave the lady his best charming smile, a little taken aback by the abrupt question. “Hikaru Sulu, a cadet at Starfleet.” He answered, sitting beside Chekov and leaning one elbow on the counter, chin propped up on one hand.

The woman raised her eyebrow, gaze flickering between the two. "Oh, Starfleet huh? Wonderful!" she slipped Hikaru a menu, before turning her attention back to Chekov. "I assume you want the regular?" she asked, to which Pavel replied with an eager nod. The woman glanced back to Sulu. "And you?"

Sulu raised an eyebrow, catching the menu and looking through it. This was beginning to rank up there with one of the stranger encounters he’d had so far ever. He glanced over at Chekov for some help. “Seriously, what’s good?” He looked back at the lady, who he had now taken to calling Grans in his head. “There a special or anything?”

The woman wore a blank expression. "Everything's special here, honey," she said, deadpan. To the side, Chekov giggled and leaned closer to Hikaru. "Zhe BLT ees good. But I bet she could also get you somezhing from your hometown." he grinned. "She can make anyzhing."

Honestly, Hikaru only caught about half what Chekov said, but he wasn’t going to ask him because Grans there was still looking at him. “Uh. I guess the BLT then.” He decided, going for what Chekov had suggested.

The woman nodded and scurried away, off to fill their orders. "You von't be disappointed, I'll garuntee zhat," Chekov exclaimed, grinning at Sulu. He frowned after a moment, however. "I'm sorry. You don't look comfortable. Eef you vant to go somevhere else..."

Sulu shook his head quickly. “No, no, this is fine. Just…Grans there kinda surprised me.” He grinned, shrugging slightly and poking at Chekov’s stool with his foot turning him slightly. “Obviously you’ve been here a lot, so it must be good.” Certainly the food had to be at least a little good, and he trusted Chekov when he said it would be good.

Chekov smirked and nodded. "She takes a leettle getting used to, but she ees nice." he giggled softly, turning back around as the woman came back then, sliding the plates to the two of them. She watched them for a few moments, before speaking to Chekov. "Pavel, could you get something for me? I believe I have a delivery out back that needs bringing in." Chekov jumped off the stool and nodded, rushing around the back without a word.

Once he was gone, the woman leaned on the counter and eyed Sulu carefully. "You his friend?"

Sulu watched Chekov leave with a slight frown, turning back to Gran at her question. “Partners on a class project.” He responded, leaning back a little, regarding her curiously. They weren’t exactly friends just yet, even if Hikaru was already thinking of him as one, they’d barely just met. “Why do you ask?” Chekov certainly seemed to like her, and she appeared to be fond of him as well, but Sulu wasn’t exactly thrilled to be questioned considering all he really wanted right now was food. He’d come here for lunch and to hang out with the kid. Besides that, Chekov was a scrawny little thing and she’s sent him off before he could even eat anything too.

The woman nodded slowly, eyebrow slowly rising. "Just wondering. I think there's been some trouble at the academy with Pavel here. Sometimes he comes in with bruises and such, but he never answers my questions about it." she paused and let out a deep sigh, eyes shifting to the window now. "I worry about him." she wiped the table absently with a rag she produced from her back pocket. "Keep an eye on him, will you?"

Sulu raised an eyebrow, not sure if he believed it or not. He didn’t think she was lying, just it was hard to believe the timid little Chekov would get into any trouble that would result in bruises. “Yeah, sure.” He said lightly, eyes drifting to where Chekov had left. Thinking about it, the kid had been kinda jumpy at times. He twirled Chekov’s stool around as he waited for him to come back, brow furrowed in thought.

The woman nodded, more to herself than anything, and turned back to the kitchen door. Chekov came through just then and they exchanged smiles. "All done, Granny," the Russian announced, beaming. The woman patted him lightly on the shoulder and gestured to Sulu. "Thank you, Pavel. Go eat now, we have to put some weight on you." Chekov nodded, laughing quietly before making his way over to Hikaru. He climbed back onto the stool and took a spoonful of soup. He ate in silence for a few minutes until he noticed that Sulu was strangely quiet. They may have just met, but he could tell that this guy was a talker.

Pavel looked over with a small frown. "Somezhing vrong?" he asked with concern.

Sulu glanced up at Chekov, shaking himself from his thoughts. He’d ask later, right now he’d rather just eat and have a good time hanging out. “No, I’m great.” He plastered on a grin to cover, turning to eat his own food, a little less enthusiastically than he might have normally.

When he’d finished, he pulled out enough money for the both of their food, laying it on the counter and getting up once Chekov was done. “Guess we should probably get back to work, huh Cheks?” He suggested, tilting his head a little.

Chekov shrugged and nodded lightly at Sulu's response, before turning back to his meal. He scarfed it down quickly, being hungrier than he realized. He leaned back and watched Hikaru lay out the money. Reaching into his pocket he frowned. "I zhought I vas paying?" he looked at Sulu, confused, and before another word could be said, pulled out the right amount, slid it on the table, and handed Sulu's money back to him. The Russian grinned, hopping down from his stool and stretching. He nodded, but made no move to the door. Cheks? That was a strange nickname. It didn't bother him though, in fact, he kinda liked it. It was different than Chekov, but not as casual as Pavel.

Sulu shrugged, accepting the money. It would be an easy enough trick to get Chekov to take it eventually. Besides, he was happy and full and the kid was grinning, so it seemed like a pretty good start to the afternoon. “Come on, let’s go finish this project so we can relax. It’s the _last_ thing I have left to do this weekend.” He said, chipper once more and eager to get going. He turned, heading out the door and taking a deep breath of fresh air once he’d made it outside.

Sulu kept the pace slow as they headed back, feeling kinda lazy and full. He paused, stopping as his phone chirped at him and he flipped it open, glancing down at the message. He let out a groan a moment later, pulling a face. “Jale….” He sighed, shaking his head and putting the phone away before looking at Chekov. “Sorry, she left one of her reports in my room and she just _has_ to have it now. Meet you back in the classroom? I promise it won’t take long.” He asked, digging the key out of his pocket and offering it to Chekov. He could run back to the dorm, get over to Jale’s building and back to 22A in maybe fifteen minutes, if he ran and didn’t get held up.

Chekov felt his face droop at Sulu's words. "Alright," he said, taking the key. He forced a small smile, however, and urged Hikaru forward. "No problem. I'll just catch up on some zhings vhile you're gone." he watched Sulu go, feeling the fear creep in again. He was alone, and when he was alone things /always/ happened. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself forward at an even pace. Just put one foot in front of the other...


	5. Chapter 5

The courtyard was all but deserted, Hetzi lounging up against the wall of the building, two of his friends gathered near him. They were laughing at some video, Hetzi looking on with a smirk, smoking some plant from his homeworld that was, in all likelihood, banned. He glanced up, smirking as he caught sight of Chekov. He hit one of the guys in the shoulder, gesturing at the Russian.  
Grinning cruelly, he straightened, glancing around before quietly following Chekov. The kid was pretty concentrated, and Hetzi was thrilled he and his crew went unnoticed. He waited til Chekov had unlocked a classroom door before chuckling and moving in closer. “Hey Red.”

He had just made it into the room and was about to sit down when a voice from behind made his heart stop. Chekov slowly turned around and faced Hetzi and his two friends. For a split second his eyes glanced over to the project papers, but soon they were back on the group. He instinctively shrunk back as they moved closer, and soon he found himself against the wall. "V-vhat do you vant?" he asked, inwardly cursing his stutter.

One of Hetzi’s friends mimicked Chekov’s words. ”V-v-v-vat you vant?” He laughed at the exaggerated stutter and accent, moving closer and boxing the smaller cadet in as Hetzi and the other moved past perusing through the room. Hetzi tossed a disapproving look at Chekov. “Now is that any way to greet your pal?” He shook his head, tsking lightly. The cadet blocking Chekov against the wall grabbed him, pulling him forward and all but throwing him to the middle of the room, the three of them spread out evenly around Chekov.

Chekov glanced over at the mocking friend fearfully, before turning his attention back to Hetzi. He was flat against the wall now, no where else to go. They were looking around the room, seemingly getting closer and closer to their projects. He didn't answer the leaders remark, but that seemed to be the wrong choice as the next moment he found himself being hurled forward. He tumbled on the ground, scrambling to his feet once he got his bearings. His heart was thumping wildly now and he felt lightheaded. He knew he had to get out of there, but they were all around and even though he was fast, he'd never make it to the door. Oh, Sulu, where are you..? "Look, d-do you vant me to help you vith anyzhing?" he tried to reason, but deep down he knew it was futile.

The short one laughed, tilting his head. “What did you say? Come on man, speak English.”

Hetzi chuckled, looking through the papers spread out. He didn’t recognize the handwriting, so it wasn’t Chekov’s work. Not that he cared. Ignoring both Chekov’s question and his friends taunting, he glanced at the Russian. “Come in here to steal some ideas? I knew you couldn’t be that smart, have to take credit for someone else’s work.” He picked up one of the specs, tearing it in half slowly.

“Oh man, that was terrible. Chekov why would you do that to someone’s hard work?” The dark haired friend commented, feigning a shocked tone.

Chekov sent a quick, small glare to the short friend, but was soon focused on what Hetzi was doing. He was just looking through it, just looking... The sound of ripping paper made his heart drop. Sulu had worked so hard on that. "Stop it!" he cried, feeling tears start to spring up in his eyes. His only chance at friendship and they were ruining it. There wasn't any way to stop them completely, but maybe there was a chance to distract them until Sulu arrived. Not daring to think of the consequences, Chekov lunged towards Hetzi without warning, trying to push him away from the desk.

Chekov’s weight was hardly anything to Hetzi, and he barely moved as the kid collided into him. He sneered down at him. “You really never learn, do you?” Hetzi scoffed, hand wrapping tightly in the collar of Chekov’s shirt to keep him upright as he threw a fist into his stomach. His friends laughed, the short one moving over to the folder on the desk and started tearing pages out.

Hetzi walked forward a step, dropping Chekov with another punch and letting his dark haired friend step forward to kick the Russian. He stepped back, tearing another blueprint into multiple pieces as he watched in amusement.

He was expecting it, but that didn't mean he was ready for it. Chekov grunted at the punch in the gut. Somehow it was worse than yesterday's. Perhaps it was because he was more or less stationary and there was no where to go. Whatever the reason, he curled up only to be met with another punch, this time, however, he landed heavily on the ground. The world began to spin and his vision swayed, but he stayed awake. He almost wished he could pass out, to get away from the pain, but apparently that wasn't in his destiny right now.

The sound of paper ripping and laughter meshed together as the pain exploded again and again. It was numb in a way. He could barely focus on it but at the same time it was all he knew. All he knew was that he had to protect his head. Protect the head and you'll be okay.

Eventually the dark haired on tired of his game and joined Hetzi and the short one destroying the last of the project.

“Really, Red, were you that jealous of someone else’s work you had to do all this? This is a perfect example of why you can’t give a kid too much free reign.” Hetzi taunted, walking to stand in front of Chekov and kicking him flat onto his back with a boot. He stepped on Chekov’s chest, putting enough pressure to hurt but not break anything, looking down and tilting his head. “Don’t backtalk me next time.” He advised, smirking. He tossed the shredded remains of some paper on Chekov and walked off, motioning for the other two to come along.

The short one tossed the now empty folder on Chekov, the dark haired one kicking him one last time on the way out.

No new pain started coming, and that gave Chekov enough confidence to open his eyes, which had been clenched closed the whole time. He watched with tear filled eyes as they destroyed the rest of the paper and all the hard work and came towards him once again. He tensed, ready for more blows. He stifled a cry as Hetzi kicked him onto his back, and, unable to hold back, finally let out a whimper as the foot pressed into his chest. It felt like his ribs were going to break, but before that happened, Hetzi let off and walked out the door. Chekov rolled back onto his side during the last kick, but finally they were gone.

It was almost too silent now. Chekov's eyes scanned over the bits of shredded paper scattered around him, before closing his eyes and sobbing quietly.

 

 

Sulu eyed a trio leaving the building, panting slightly as he went inside. Yeah, he’d got held up a bit, so he’d run the way here. Shrugging it off, he headed to the classroom, ready to get this thing finished and on with his afternoon. He looked around at the trashed room in a blank kind of disbelief, stepping forward into the room slowly. His eyes landed on Chekov, widening in shock. “What the HELL happened??” He asked, stuck between concern, incredulity and a tiny bit of fury. And perhaps he shouldn’t have yelled the question, but this was… This was Starfleet, this sort of thing shouldn’t happen. He moved forward toward Chekov, concerned that the kid was still on the ground.

There was a voice. He couldn't place it, but there was a voice. And someone was coming closer. Chekov cowered away, but was too weak to move. If it was possible, he curled into an even tighter ball despite the protesting injuries. Opening his eyes as a wave of dizziness passed, he saw that it was only Sulu and relaxed some, but still stayed tensed. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed quietly, voice just above a whisper. "I'm sorry. All your vork..."

Sulu crouched down beside Chekov, hesitating when slightly. “F- Jeez, kid, forget about the work. What happened?” He asked, glad that Chekov was conscious but still concerned. “Can you sit up? Crap, you need a doctor.” He looked around, debating going to find one, but not sure he could leave Chekov here to do so.

Sit up? He wasn't sure if he could do that, but if Sulu asked him to do it, he'd try. Taking a deep breath, Chekov started to push himself up, grunting from the pain a few times. He successfully made it up, but that only seemed to make things worse as now _everything_ hurt as opposed to a few choice areas. He slumped against Sulu, trying to catch his breath. "C-can't breazhe," he gasped, wide eyes searching out Hikaru's face, panic rising.

Curses chanting in his head, Sulu tried to remember best he could field medic training. He’d really not done well in that class… He shifted back to lean against the instructor’s desk, taking hold of Chekov carefully, trying not to make it worse, and pulled the Russian against his chest. “Here, hey, calm down. Just breathe slowly, in and out. You’ll be fine.” He instructed, keeping his voice calm. He hoped the half upright position would help the kid breathe, Sulu’s own body providing the support so Chekov’s muscles didn’t have to. He kept his arms down, not wanting Chekov to feel caged in. “You’ll be fine, just breathe.” He repeated.

Chekov focused on Sulu's words, clenching his teeth as he was shifted so that he wouldn't cry out. He evened his breathing as instructed, closing his eyes and listening to Sulu's heartbeat. It was beating nearly as fast as his own. Poor Sulu was probably scared as well, and he instantly felt regret. "I-I couldn't stop zhem..." he murmured once he had calmed down enough. "Zhey messed eweryzhing up...”

Sulu wrapped an arm gently around Chekov for a brief moment, feeling a sharp relief that his breathing had evened out. “It’s fine, it’s just some paper.” He muttered, trying to calm himself. He wanted to suggest a doctor again, but he wasn’t willing to try and move Chekov right now.

Chekov could feel the tears coming again and pressed his face into Sulu's chest. "But you vorked so hard on eet!" he said, voice thick with emotion. "It's all my fault. Zhey followed me. I should hawe been paying attention but I vasn't" He was such a failure. Child prodigy or not, ever since he had reached Starfleet things had been going wrong. Perhaps he wasn't cut out to be a navigator.

Hikaru froze for a moment, completely at a loss with Chekov all but crying into his shirt. Comforting him the only way he really knew how given the situation, Sulu curled around him, pulling him closer and hugging him. “You shouldn’t /have/ to pay attention for something like this, it shouldn’t happen at Starfleet. _I_ wouldn’t have been expecting it.” He huffed, thinking about it only made him irate, but he tried to push the feeling aside, calm Chekov down first. “Besides, I’d hardly call it hard work.” He said, lightening his tone. “Seriously, I was exaggerating this morning. I hadn’t done that much.”

Chekov stiffened as Sulu started to shift, curling around him, but he soon relaxed feeling strangely comforted by the touch. His body screamed but he felt safe and he wasn't going to move. Not that he could have very easily anyway, but he didn't push Hikaru away. Sulu was the only person that made him feel safe, despite having only met him a few days ago. Then and there, Chekov knew that Sulu was trustworthy. If it wasn't his fault, then why did this happen? They were obviously targeting _him_ so therefore it was his fault. Maybe Hetzi and the gang were right. Trouble followed him wherever he went. Perhaps he wasn't cut out to be a navigator if he couldn't even go two steps without disaster striking.

Chekov hadn’t said anything, so Sulu was content to just sit there for a bit. He rubbed a hand lightly down the kids arm, wanting to comfort him best he could. This day had _started_ well enough. He rested his chin ontop of Chekov’s head gently, glancing around to survey the damage. They were going to be spending the rest of the day getting this sorted out. Hikaru figured he’d come clean this up later so they didn’t get in trouble, preferably while Chekov was getting taken care of by someone with some medical experience. “You okay with reworking some of this back at the dorms?” He didn’t really wanna be out and about anymore, nor did he really wanna move from where they were not because Chekov made a great teddy bear, but he really was concerned about getting the Russian to a doctor.

Chekov was starting to doze off. Between the fight, pain, and the very soothing arm rubbing, everything was starting to get cloudy. He vaguely remembered in medical class that you weren't supposed to fall asleep in case you had a head injury. He was about to ask Sulu about it when the Asian spoke up. "Yes, I vould be fine vith zhat," he replied drowsily, voice beginning to slur. Yes, that would work perfectly. He could just relax by himself awhile and heal up while working.

Sulu nodded to himself, shifting around some. “Sorry pal, but you really have to get up this time.” He kept a hand on Chekov, fully planning to help him stand and walk. And in the case he couldn’t do that, he’d carry the guy. Not like it would be difficult, the kid was a tiny scrawny thing. “Come on, you need to see someone with a medical degree. Which I don’t have.”

Chekov let out a small mumble of protest, but slowly rose to his feet anyway. He gently pushed Sulu's arm away, looking at him with calm defiance. "I'm fine," he said, trying to straighten up fully. A flash of pain crossed his face which he quickly wiped off, hoping Sulu hadn't seen. "Really. I don't need a doctor."

Sulu backed off reluctantly as Chekov pushed him away. Yeah, most people didn’t wanna deal with him being all over them anyway. He snorted at Chekov’s words. “Yeah, sure you don’t.” He commented sarcastically. “You look like crap, no offense. Look, I’ll make ya a deal. You go see a doctor, and I’ll clear up this mess before you’re done? Also, remember you still owed me one. So you can pay me back by agreeing.”

Karu logic.

He grinned, straightening and bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He wasn’t exactly as happy and excited as he was putting on, but if he showed a confident front many times it worked in his favor, sometimes anyway.

Chekov ducked his head, considering Sulu's argument. He made a good point that he still owed him. He wasn't going to like it, but he'd do it. "Alright," Pavel sighed dejectedly, glancing around at the mess. "But let me help clean up, zhen ve'll go." he slowly raised his eyes to take in Sulu's reaction. It wasn't that he wanted to help clean (he did, but that wasn't the main point), he simply was scared to go alone. Point blank; he was terrified.

Sulu shook his head. “No thanks, I’ll clean. You’re gonna be with the doc for a while. I’ll just come back here while you’re busy.” He shrugged with another glance around. “Really won’t take me _that_ long to clean up. It’s just paper.” And seriously, if Chekov got hurt at a _doctors_ office here at the academy Sulu was just going to quit today and find some other way to get into space. He eyed Chekov for a moment, wondering if he’d be okay to walk, or if he’d even accept help. “Come on. It’s not that far.” He headed for the door, keeping a close eye on Chekov and sticking close to him.

Biting his tongue, Chekov shuffled slowly to the door. It wouldn't take long, no, but there was a lot of paper so it could get tedious. His face lit up, however, as Sulu walked out with him. He probably walked closer to the Asian than needed, but for once he didn't feel the need to watch his back. It was slow going as he was starting to stiffen up, but they soon made it to the office. Chekov placed a hand on the doorknob and turned to look at Sulu sorrowfully. He was worried that if Hetzi had seen them, they might turn to Sulu now, too, for helping him. "Be careful," he whispered, before slipping inside.


	6. Chapter 6

After watching Chekov head safely inside, Sulu headed back to the classroom. He could feel the tension in his shoulders, and he knew his expression reflected the deep anger growing in his stomach. A couple of young freshmen skittered nervously out of his way as he all but stormed back to the scene of the crime. He didn’t even bother trying to calm himself down, he should probably get it all out while Chekov wasn’t here. No need to worry the kid with his own reactions.

He got to cleaning, though in all honesty the first few minutes he probably made more of a mess before he could chill out enough to keep from scattering the papers more. The cleanup didn’t take long, as he’d predicted, and he locked up the classroom on his way out. He was still furious, not to mention frustrated. He didn’t want to just sit down and grill Chekov with questions, but he really wanted to deal with this problem. Chekov had said they’d been following him… so he must know at least what they looked like. He frowned a little, worried. This /had/ been the first time this had happened to the kid, right? But then what Grans had said…

He came to a stop, almost surprised to find himself already back where he’d dropped Chekov off. He went inside, finding a chair and slouching down to wait until the Russian reappeared, trying to wipe the angry brooding look from his face.

When Chekov came out, he was surprised to see Sulu already waiting for him. He looked tense, but he had good reason to be. All the work was destroyed and now he had to care for a sick teen. That would weigh anyone down. Chekov came forward nervously, holding a small slip of paper. "Hi," he greeted quietly, unsure of how Sulu was feeling. "Zhe doctor said zhat I needed lots of rest and food." he waved the paper a little. "And I can't be in class for a few days." he sighed lightly. This was exactly why he didn't want to go to the doctor's. They just gave him a slip saying exactly the same thing. After the first few times Chekov had simply stopped coming and heeded those unsaid instructions himself. This trip was mostly to appease Sulu.

Sulu tried a grin, getting up and slipping around beside Chekov to read the paper. “Food and rest, perfect. That’s what weekends are supposed to be anyway.” He nodded to himself, heading to the door and holding it open for Chekov. “And don’t worry about classes, I’ll go pick up your work for you if you’ll give me your class list.” He offered, leading the way back to the dorms, walking right beside Chekov the entire way there. “And I usually always have snacks of some kind in my room, so if you’re hungry just hop over there, or text me and I’ll bring you some. And we can make comfy nest of blankets for you.” He chattered on aimlessly the entire walk back, most of it just silly nonsense, but it cheered him up. He wasn’t sure where Chekov’s room was, so he just headed to his own. He had the necessary books for his half and a couple spare blueprints there anyway.

Chekov nodded, moving out the door and waiting for Sulu to come before he started moving again. Sulu was chattering on aimlessly, but it mostly seemed to be stuff about him and what they could do together. The Russian tilted his head, confused. No one had ever been this nice to him at Starfleet before. Was it because Sulu pitied him or was this actual friendship? Whatever it was, it was nice and he was going to enjoy it while it lasted. He remained quiet while Sulu spoke, content to simply listen and take his mind off earlier events. They eventually stopped in front of a door unknown to him and he realized this was probably Sulu's dorm. A wave of irrational fear swept over him and he took a small step back, watching the Asian with doubt. Was he supposed to go in? He hated going into other people's rooms. They were all so tight feeling and he hated not knowing the layout beforehand. A wimpy fear, but a fear nonetheless.

Sulu finally stopped talking as they reached his room, opening the door and glancing at Chekov. He paused at the kid’s nervous look. Hikaru smiled in an attempt to reassure him, not sure what the problem was. “You still up for working on the project? Or, waiting for me to get my stuff back together. I don’t have the books for your half here...” He stopped, tilting his head slightly. “…I can just work on it by myself if you want to go rest, nap or something?” He wasn’t too happy with the thought of just leaving Chekov on his own, injured as he was. If he remembered correctly, the kid had looked terrible that morning, and after hearing how many time Chekov had blamed himself Sulu could guess he’d probably work on the project and not sleep. At least if Hikaru was in the room he could convince him to sit down and do nothing for a while.

There was a slight commotion at the end of the hall, a trio of girls giggling and walking with a shorter alien male. Hikaru looked over at them, watching them sharply as they approached, his body automatically tensing to move if needed. He really hated being so suspicious, he usually thought the best of people. They didn’t pay even the slightest bit of attention to the two cadets, the group too wrapped up in their own whispered, giggled conversation. Forgetting for a moment Chekov’s nervous look, he really just wanted to be somewhere _away_ from everyone else, he reached over to tug lightly on the kid’s sleeve. “Come on.” He said, going into his room.

It wasn’t exactly messy, Sulu didn’t collect a lot of things so it was pretty sparsely decorated, but it wasn’t exactly clean either. He had a botany project going on in one corner of the room, and some fencing equipment in another corner, though luckily everything else was fairly clean. His books were laying around in various places, the spare blueprints hanging over a chair. “Sorry for the mess. Busy week.”

Chekov shook his head, relaxing some at Sulu's warm smile. "No, eet's okay, I vill vork on vhat I remember." They had to get it done before it was due. Besides, he honestly didn't want to go back to his room to be alone right now. He jumped slightly at the burst of giggles coming from a group that was walking by. He watched them nervously until they had passed, turning just in time to see Sulu untense as well. Was the Asian watching out for him? Before he had time to dwell on it, however, the door was open and Sulu was beckoning him in. The Russian flinched away from the touch, instantly regretting it. He wanted to trust Sulu, he really did, but right now he wasn't really sure who to trust. He followed the man in, head turning this way and that to get a quick inventory. His gaze lingered awhile on the fencing equipment and only when he forced himself to walk further in and to the window did he look away. Chekov looked out for awhile, before turning and watching Sulu like a hawk. He wasn't going to be a caged rabbit this time.

Sulu didn’t comment on Chekov’s jumpiness, though he did notice it. He could hardly blame him. Distracting himself, he grabbed the blueprints, looking over them. “I think it was this one…” he muttered, tilting his head as he looked at it. He moved some stuff off his desk and layed it out, grabbing a book and looking for the specs he could remember having added. “Make yourself at home.” He commented, glancing at Chekov with a half grin. “Want a drink? Food? I know we just ate earlier, but..” He shrugged. Food wasn’t his comfort, but he figured offering couldn’t hurt. And while he’d love to ask about what had happened in that classroom, he knew better than to try now. Last thing he wanted was Chekov ditching him to go work in his room by himself.

Knowing that it was okay, Chekov sat on the bed, but still tried to stay close to the window. "Um, vater, eef you hawe any," he said, before wincing. "Vater. Vater. _Vater_." he frowned as he repeated the word. Try as he might, his accent still lingered heavily. He ducked his head in embarrassment. "I am sorry. I vill try to do better next time." how he hated his accent. No one could ever understand him and it was more of a nuisance than anything.

Sulu put the book down, frowning and watching Chekov with his head tilted in confusion. “Hey, it’s fine. I know what you mean.” He went to retrieve a bottle of water, rooting around for a moment in his closet for the thing. He approached Chekov slowly, brow furrowed in concern. He held the bottle out to him. “Really, I’m kinda getting used to it.” He was, sorta. It was pretty easy actually to figure out whatever he didn’t initially catch using context.

Chekov took a shaky breath and looked up at Sulu. "You do?" he questioned, genuinely surprised. He gave a relieved smile, taking the bottle. "No one else seems to like eet. Or understand. Except zhe professors, but zhey are trained to." he grinned some for a moment, but it soon faded as he dropped his gaze to the bottle in his hand. "Zhey tease me about eet." he fiddled with the water, wondering why he was telling Sulu this. He hadn't ever told anyone, not even Granny. The words just seemed to flow easier for him with Sulu there.

Sulu moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed, shifting and laying down to look up at the ceiling. He was not in the mood for project working anymore. He glanced over at Chekov, not wanting to make him uncomfortable or anything. He didn’t know what to say to that, other than that the people were being idiots and he didn’t think that would help. Hadn’t helped when people had told him that when he was younger. “Tell me about it?” He asked quietly, hoping that just talking would help the kid out.

Chekov held his breath as Sulu moved around and laid down on the bed, exhaling only when the Asian was settled. Yes he wanted to talk about it, but he knew that if he did Hetzi would quite literally kill him. Still, it couldn't hurt as long as he didn't give too many details or names. Chekov shifted so that he was half facing Sulu now, sitting crosslegged. He opened the bottle and took a drink, trying to decide how he should continue. "I get bullied a lot," he said after a moment with a small shrug. "I am used to eet so eet eesn't zhat big a deal." Yes it was. It still pained him, but he wasn't about to show that. "Eet's because I am sometimes smarter zhan zhe ozher students. Zhey are jealous, but zhey don't hawe to be as zhey're alvays passing vith... How ees eet..." he paused, trying to remember that one expression. "Oh, flying colours."

Sulu listened silently, nodding in understanding. It was hard to believe, because this was Starfleet, but he had to admit that the idea of some people just wanting the easy way out was not all that strange. His lip twitched a little, fighting a smile at the phrase coming from Chekov. It was easy enough staying somber considering the topic of conversation. “Yeah, that’s the one.” He agreed, crossing his arms behind his head. “You told the instructors this?” Sulu figured he'd probably had that thought himself, Chekov was a genius after all, but whether he’d done it or not was a different story.

Chekov nodded with a sad frown. "Aye, but zhere ees nozhing zhey can do about eet." he sighed and shrugged again. "Like I said; eet ees no big deal really. Besides, eet doesn't happen often and vhen eet does eet ees usually my fault." he thought back over the times it had happened most. Usually it was when he was late or he had gotten something wrong. He thought of the classroom and furrowed his brows. What was the reason there? His own obliviousness? Whatever the reason, it was done now and didn't matter.

Sulu frowned, sitting up and looking pointedly at Chekov. “It is _not_ your fault.” He stated, tone fierce, shaking his head. “There is absolutely _no_ reason to treat someone like that, and I don’t care if it only happens once ever seven hundred years, it’s not okay.” He was _not_ about to let Chekov think that way about himself. He took a breath, trying to calm himself down. Now was not the time to get all riled up over this, he was supposed to be listening to his friend, not ranting himself.

Chekov blinked and quickly turned his head to Sulu as the man sat up, tone obviously full of anger. Chekov flinched some but didn't move, taking the Asian's words into consideration. "But eesn't eet my fault eef I am late or got somezhing vrong?" Hetzi always said that he was teaching him how to be a better person and that beating was the only way someone would learn. Pavel had always been dubious of the saying, but it sort of made sense. He definitely remembered the pain, and that was good. It meant he would try harder next time to avoid it. "But," he started to speak again, tilting his head in confusion. "How else vould someone learn? I zought pain vas supposed to be a reminder."

Sulu stared blankly at him for a moment, just stopping in a sort of numb shock at what Chekov was saying. He started to say something, choking on the words and just scooting over to pull Chekov closer to him and hugging him as tight as he dared without hurting him. “That’s… that’s wrong.” He said, voice barely a whisper.

Sulu's reaction wasn't what he had been expecting. Instead of yelling and trying to get him to understand what he was saying, he simply reached over for a hug. Initially Chekov tensed and tried to escape, but after a few seconds it was alright, though he wasn't entirely sure what to do now. He awkwardly copied Sulu's lead and wrapped his arms around the man, leaning his head on his shoulder. Chekov figured it would be over soon, but when about 5 seconds passed and Sulu wasn't moving, he started to feel a bit anxious. He slowly let his arms drop, hoping that would send the memo that he was done and Sulu would release him.

This was just wrong, and terrible, and wrong and Sulu hated it. Trying to get his own emotions under control was difficult and he couldn’t help kind of curling around Chekov protectively. He let out a little huff of a sigh, part irritated part distressed. “I don’t…” He hesitated, cheek pressed against the top of Chekov’s head as he tried to think, to get that sick feeling to go away. “I don’t care what you do, no one should hurt you. Pain is not something you use to teach _anyone_.” He explained, voice thick. He sighed again, closing his eyes and trying to calm down.


	7. Chapter 7

He wasn't letting go. The room was starting to get very warm and it seemed like Sulu was hugging him tighter. His breath started to hitch and he knew that if he didn't do something soon he might do something to hurt Sulu who was obviously already upset for some reason. He started to squirm again, but froze at Sulu's words. They were so different from Hetzi's words that he had listened to for so long. Who was right, though? Sulu seemed to put more heart into his statement and he quite liked the idea that he didn't have to get hurt to succeed, but what would Hetzi do if he ever found out Chekov had abandoned him? The Russian shuddered involuntarily, now pressing closer against Sulu in fear. Hetzi stopped at nothing. What if he did something to hurt Hikaru? Chekov couldn't bear thinking of that as his own emotions started to swell. His mind was whirring yet no conscious thought reached him. He was so confused. On one side there was torment and fear and on the other it was safe. How desperately he wanted to believe Sulu, but there were too many consequences for if he did.

Sulu’s heart fell a little at Chekov’s shudder, worried he’d scared the kid. But Chekov pressed closer instead of pulling back, so Sulu held him, on hand gently rubbing his arm. “I promise, I won’t hurt you. Ever. No matter what you think you messed up. Ok?” He asked, really wanting and needing Chekov to hear that, to believe him.

Sulu promised. A promise was supposed to be forever and never broken. Chekov relaxed at those words, taking deep, slow breaths. He trusted Sulu. He knew it would take a little while to make sure the man followed through on his vow, but all doubt that Sulu would hurt him were erased. "I beliewe you," he whispered, voice shaking somewhat, but the reply was genuine.

Hikaru let out a little relieved puff of laughter. “Good…good.” He smiled a little, easing up not wanting to squeeze Chekov to death. But he didn’t really want to let him go, and Chekov hadn’t complained which was nice.

Sulu's grasp turned lighter and Chekov was once again aware of the close hug. Seeing his chance, he wriggled free and moved to the side, staring at his bottle as he was unsure what else to look at. "So, er ve must vork on our projects..."

Sulu dropped his arms completely to let Chekov move away and scooted back himself to give Chekov more room. He might have preferred to sit there longer, but few of his friends tolerated that. And watching Chekov staring at the water bottle Sulu was pretty sure he’d made him uncomfortable. Happily, Chekov had provided a wonderful change of subject. “Yeah, probably we should…” He sighed lightly, looking at the blueprint and book.

While Sulu easily went back to work, Chekov was looking around for his backpack. His eyes scanned the room, but from what he could see, it wasn't there. He had though Sulu would've brought it back, but apparently it had slipped the guy's mind. Chekov cleared his throat just enough so that he could get Sulu's attention. "...Vhere ees my bag?"

Sulu moved over to the desk, sitting down to start working, though he didn’t actually do anything immediately. He really wasn’t feeling it, but it needed to be done. He looked over at Chekov as he cleared his throat. Hearing the question he paused, looking around for a second before groaning. Craaaaap. He’d forgotten it. He faceplanted on the desk, feeling guilty. “….Its…back in the classroom.” He muttered, still facedown on the desk, feeling stupid.

Chekov jumped as Sulu's head thumped into the desk. He blinked, paling slightly at the response. "Eet's okay," he sighed, getting up and moving to the door. "I vill go get eet. Eet's not too far and I need to get some stuff from my room." he hesitated at the door, standing stiffly with his hand on the knob. He was still scared to go alone, but he knew that he'd have to get over it sometime.

Sulu sat up quickly at that, head snapping around to look at Chekov. “What?! No, I left it, I’ll go get it.” He said, getting up and heading over to the door too.

Chekov looked back at Sulu, eyes widening at the outburst. "But eet ees my stuff," he replied, not moving his ground.

Sulu shook his head, smirking. “Yeah, but I forgot it. My responsibility.”

Chekov frowned, stepping to the side now with his arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow and gave a small smirk. "Are you insisting?"

“Yes.” He replied, smiling and lifting his head high, thinking he’d already won.

Chekov let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Good luck catching up to me, zhen." before there was any chance of questioning, Chekov flung the door open and darted out, running down the hall laughing.

SUlu had… not been expecting that. He stood a little stunned for a second, especially hearing Chekov laugh. Quickly shaking it off, he darted after him, pulling the door shut behind him with a bang as he took off. Kid was _fast >/I> he’d give him that, already halfway across the courtyard by the time Sulu made it down the steps. He ran after him, not catching up at all and catching the eye of a couple sitting on a bench. He ignored them, taking the steps of the building two at a time and trotting through the doors, strolling with a huge grin on his face towards the classroom. _

Panting, Chekov slid to a stop by the class door and glanced back. Sulu was far enough behind, but he was steadily catching up. With a small grin, he tried to doorknob, only to find that it was locked. He frowned and tried it again before remembering that Sulu had the key. With a small laugh he moved to lean against the wall, watching as Sulu came up. "I forgot zhe key," he said with a small smile, ducking his head.

Sulu gave Chekov a smug look. “Yeah, I realized that bout halfway up the steps.” He laughed, digging the key out and tossing it to Chekov. “You won though, so here you first.”

Chekov caught the key and nodded, putting it into the lock and opening the door. He stepped in slowly, glancing back to make sure it was only Sulu who followed. His backpack sat on the side, books stacked next to it. Evidently Sulu had thought of it, but had forgotten at the last minute. Chekov smiled lightly and moved forward, putting the books back in and slinging it over his shoulders. He winced as the bruises pulled. He had forgotten how heavy his stuff was. Making his way back over to Sulu, he nodded again. "I am ready."

Sulu frowned seeing Chekov wince. He didn’t move, just held out his hand. “Let me carry it.”

Chekov shook his head. So it was going to be that way, huh. "No, I'm fine."

Sulu just stared at him expectantly, making a little ‘gimme’ motion with his hand.

Chekov frowned, studying Sulu for a moment. He sighed, slipping the backpack off his shoulders and placing it on the floor. His hands still gripped it, however, and he looked back up at Sulu doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Sulu nodded, reaching forward to pick up the bag. “Yeah, I got this, don’t worry.” He scoffed. The bag was heavier than he’d expected, but he slung it over his shoulder anyway. “See? No problem.” He grinned, cheerfully heading out the door.

Chekov followed Sulu out, still frowning slighty. He remained quiet on the subject as he didn't want to bother the man, but he still felt strange having someone else carry his stuff. As they entered the courtyard again, he moved closer beside Sulu, keeping his eyes fixed on the door ahead. The courtyard, where most of the things happened. Or at least, where they started.

Still not knowing where Chekov’s room was located, and hearing no suggestions for anywhere else to go, Sulu led the way back to his place. “So, since I forgot the bag, and you had to go all the way there to get it, I get to buy dinner, ok?” Sulu commented once they were back to his room, dropping the backpack on the bed, amusedly watching it bounce once.

Chekov bit his tongue, moving by the window again. The sun was starting to go down so it was getting a bit darker, but there was still the last bit of sunshine shining through. "You buy me dinner?" he repeated, looking over at Sulu. "Sure. Eef you're okay vith zhat."

“Course I’m ok with it, I offered didn’t I?” Sulu went to sit back down at the desk, leaning the chair backward precariously as he procrastinated starting on the work. So much for his free evening…

Chekov smiled, setting himself back down on the bed. "Zhat you did, but sometimes people say zhings zhey don't mean." he shrugged lightly before turning to his backpack and pulling out some supplies and a book. "But before ve go," he was saying. "Ve must vork on our project. Okay?" he turned back to Sulu with a playful smile.

Sulu let out an exaggerated sigh, slumping over his desk. “Okay, if we simply must.” After a moment of over dramatic lazing, he opened the book up and began copying down the necessary information, content with the companionable silence.

After a while, Sulu texted an order to his favorite take out place while Chekov was absorbed in his work, not really trying to be sneaky, just getting hungry and doing what he usually did with friends over. He’d just finished his work, and was currently playing with the pencil at the desk, when there was a knock on the door.

Chekov jumped up with a startled squeak as there was a knock on the door. He glanced at Sulu fearfully for a few seconds, before turning back to the door, frozen.

Food! Sulu was starved by now, not even noticing Chekov’s reaction as he hopped up and trotted over to the door. He took the food from the guy, giving him the money and making some joke that had the both of them laughing. He ordered from this place a lot, nine times out of ten the delivery guy recognized him.

“So,” he said to Chekov, closing the door behind him. “I got my usual, plus some extra and like, two things Jale says is good, and one thing Mike says is good.” He shifted some stuff over one the bed with an elbow to make room, and put the food down.

Chekov furrowed his brows as Sulu got up and answered the door. The smell of food wafted in and he relaxed. It was fine, just the delivery guy. He set his books and papers on the floor and watched as Sulu placed the stuff on his bed. It all smelled so good! He had lost track of time and hadn't realized how hungry he was. His hunger emerged now, however, as he looked around at the items. "Vhat's first?" he asked, unsure as to how to start.

Sulu shrugged at the question, picking up a carton at random and handing it to Chekov along with some utensil. “Just pick one and try it. It’s like Russian roulette, grab bag of fun. According to Jale anyway.” He explained, quoting how Jale had described it. It didn’t _really_ make sense to him, but whatever.

Chekov bit his tongue and accepted the box and utensil, looking at the items skeptically. "Russian roulette alvays ends up vith someone dying," he stated deadpan, looking up at Sulu with a blank expression.

Sulu choked on a bite of food, coughing and laughing a tiny bit as he put the container down and stared at Chekov. “Really?!”

Chekov's eyes widened at Sulu's reaction, but he relaxed after a moment. "Aye. Don't you know vhat Russian roulette ees?" he giggled some, opening the container. "Eet's vhen two people vith guns stand back to back, zhen zhey valk a few steps, turn around, and whoewer shoots first vins."

Sulu chuckled, shaking his head. “I thought it was that one where you roll a tiny ball and see where it lands?” He picked up another container, opening it. “I guess that gives a whole new meaning to Jale’s opinion of this food.” He commented wryly.

Chekov laughed softly, taking a bite of his food. "Zhat's just regular roulette. Did you know Russian roulette vas inwented in Russia?" he beamed, proud for his country.

Sulu shook his head, mouth full. He made a little motion with his food container though, inviting Chekov to explain.

Chekov grinned and dove into the tale of how Russian roulette was invented involving two vengeful men. It was a long tale (and maybe Chekov was embellishing a bit) but by the time he was done he had finished his whole box of food. "Zhis ees good!" he commented, grabbing another container happily.

Sulu grinned the entire way through the story, loving it. Chekov was a good story teller. Kid had quite a few talents other than his brain, that was certain. After he’d finished as much as he could eat, Sulu sighed, laying flat on an empty section of the bed. “I’ve finished my half of the project. Need any help with yours?” He asked, glancing over lazily.

Sulu was done but Chekov was still aimlessly chowing down, finishing up the scraps. "No, I zhink I am good. Only got one or two more questions to fill out."

Sulu nodded. “Good, mind if we wait til tomorrow to mesh it all together into the presentation? My brain is fried.” It wasn’t due until Tuesday anyway, and he didn’t have much else to do tomorrow. Plus, it’d give him a reason to hang out with Chekov some more. He still needed to get his class list so he could get Chekov’s homework while he was out of class. “And don’t worry about the presentation Tuesday, I’m good turning it in on my own. I’ll make an excuse for ya.”

Chekov leaned back with a small sigh, closing his eyes. The pain medication the doctor had given him was starting to wear off and he was feeling sore. That plus the ton of food he just ate resulted in a drowsy Russian. "I am fine vith vaiting," he agreed, opening his eyes again and peering at Sulu. "I vill be fine on Tuesday, I can make eet."

Sulu shrugged agreeably. If Chekov made it on Tuesday, that was fine too. He sighed as well, closing his eyes. It wasn’t that late, not really, not for him. But it had been a long day. He should really clean up, not just push empty boxes on the floor (which is what happens as he wriggles to get comfortable), but he doesn’t. He’ll leave that til tomorrow, since he’s got nearly the whole day free.

Chekov watched Sulu settle in, feeling his own eyelids growing heavy. The Russian yawned and curled up against the wall, closing his eyes. He half thought that he should go back to his room, but he was comfy here and he didn't want to risk running into anyone. Sulu's room was safe and he knew the Asian would look over him. With that thought in mind, he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chappy for the night. But I do have more, let's just hope I remember to get on here and put them up tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

The walls were starting to close in. It felt like he was breathing underwater, despite the room being bonedry. He was running, but it got him no where. There were faces... Many faces and they were laughing at him, sneering from above. The roof was so close now and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The laughing grew louder, louder... Chekov awoke with a yelp. There was something latched onto him and he promptly pushed it away, wriggling from its grasp. He sat up and looked around wildly, heart racing. This wasn't his room. Where was he? He wiped some sweat from his brow as the memories drifted back. Sulu's room, it was only Sulu's room. Pavel took a few deep breaths, holding his knees. A nightmare, something that was common after a day of torture.

Sulu was sleeping quite happily, warm and curled up with someone, which was odd because his friends knew better than to fall asleep on the bed with him. But it was nice. Up until that someone was shoving at him and wriggling a lot. He let go, scooching back a tiny bit and sitting up, rubbing at his chest still feeling where he’d been pushed at. He was still very much mostly asleep, blinking at Chekov kinda confused. He ran a hand down his face, taking in a deep breath and yawning. “Sorry.” He mumbled it a bit. “Musta fell asleep.”

Chekov looked over at Sulu, starting to calm down some. He still didn't feel totally at ease, and knew of only one way that would happen. "I h-hawe to go..." he murmured, moving towards the edge of the bed. He misjudged the distance, however, and it ended much more abruptly than he had expected. With another soft cry he tumbled over, landing in a heap on the floor. He let out a sigh, wincing from his now aching bruises, and hopped up, more embarrassed than anything. He swiftly grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulders and made his way to the door. "Zhanks for dinner, seir," he said, unconsciously dropping the formality.

Sulu watched him, still kinda confused, though a little concerned as Chekov fell on the floor. He popped up nearly immediately though, so Sulu just sat there. He glanced at the clock as Chekov gathered up his things, wanting to groan at how early it still was, though he didn’t just turned his attention to Chekov by the door. He tilted his head a little, trying to figure out what the kid had said, something about dinner, and what it was he’d just called him. Sulu waved a bit, recognizing Chekov’s intent to leave, but brain moving to slow to really try and see if he wanted to stay until Sulu was awake enough for food.

When Chekov had left, Sulu lay back, mind still mulling over what it was Chekov had said. He let out a bark of laughter as it finally clicked. Oh, no. He’d have to straighten that one out right now. There was no way he was going to let one of his friends call him sir, they were all cadets on equal rank so it would be strange even in a formal setting. He sat back up, looking around at the chaos that was the mess in his room. Alright, he’d straighten it out after he picked up. Cleanup went quickly, and afterword Sulu headed down to the lounge area in the dorm building. The vendor was still there, selling breakfast stuff, and Sulu (not knowing what Chekov liked and not really being hungry in the mornings anyway) just got two orange juices and started asking people if they knew where the scrawny Russian’s room was. (He got a lot of blank looks asking using Chekov’s name).

Not too long later, after one wrong room and two near collisions in the hall, Sulu was knocking on Chekov’s door, completely awake and grinning proudly.

Chekov went straight to his room, relieved that Sulu hadn't stopped him. There were a few students millinfg about going to early classes, but for the most part the hall was empty. As soon as he made it back, he flung his backpack to the side and flopped onto his bed. His body still felt tired and heavy, but he knew he wasn't going to get back to sleep after a dream like that. He turned around and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for daylight to come.

At some point he must've fallen asleep for the next thing he knew someone was knocking on his door and light was trickling in. Chekov hopped up, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he made it to the door. He straightened his clothes and took a deep breath. The only person that ever called on him nowadays was Hetzi. But what could he want? Another assignment done?   
Chekov opened the door then, eyes widening in surprise at seeing Sulu standing there with two orange juices. "Morning," he said, tilting his head in confusion.

“Let’s get one thing straight.” He stated, tone teasing. “My name is Hikaru, not sir. Here.” He handed Chekov the orange juice, his phone number written on it with his name just below it. “So, message me or call whenever.” He didn’t want to pressure Chekov into hanging out with him or anything, so he just smiled, taking a step back. “See you later?”

Chekov looked at the name and number, a small smile on his face. He looked back up and gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry about zhat," he replied, ducking his head. "Half asleep after a nightmare ees usually a bad time for me and I newer really know vhat I'm doing." he shrugged, raising his gaze as Sulu stepped back. "Vait!" he called, stepping to the side and opening the door wider. "You said you vanted my class leest?"

“Yeah, of course. Almost forgot.” He took that as an invitation, walking forward. “I understand bout the nightmare thing. You wanna talk bout it? People say that helps.” He shrugged a little, not entirely sold on the notion, but he wasn’t really inclined to nightmares, so he didn’t know for sure.

Chekov shrugged, trying to find a scrap piece of paper and something to write with. "Eet vas just a dream," he said, finally finding the utensils he needed. He paused, quickly writing down his classes along with the numbers. At the bottom he wrote his phone number and initials. He smiled and turned to Sulu. "Here you go, /Hikaru/." he stated, emphasizing the name. "My first class starts een an hour. And I'm Pawel."

Sulu chuckled a little at the emphasis, taking the paper and looking it over. “I’ll run get your assignments then, wouldn’t want you to fall behind, huh Pavel?” He grinned, glad that Chekov was feeling better. “I got a couple errands to run though, so I’ll bring this by later this afternoon and we can finish the project?”

Chekov grinned. "I'm not vorried about falling behind, but zhank you." he yawned, stretching. "I'm looking forvard to some sleep, zhough. Hawen't had much zhe last few days." he looked at Sulu with a tired but worried expression. "You sure eet's no trouble?"

Waving a hand at him, Sulu shook his head. “Of course, it’s no problem. It’s barely even out of my way, won’t even make you owe me.” He nudged Chekov toward the bed. “Go on, go sleep, I won’t keep you up. I’ll be back later this afternoon, so you should have plenty of time.” He turned heading out the door with a final wave.

As soon as Sulu was out the door, Chekov was back on his bed, curled up. The sun was warm on his back and with the comfort of being able to see Hikaru later, the Russian fell into a relaxed sleep.  
He awoke sometime later in the afternoon. Sulu wasn't around yet and he decided to clean up, for he was still in the same clothes as yesterday. Chekov got up and meandered to the bathroom, frowning at his appearance. Though the tired circles were gone, a light shade of purple surrounded his left eye. He didn't remember getting hit in the face but obviously something had happened. Shrugging it off, he peeled off his uniform and hopped into the shower, exited only a few minutes after feeling quite refreshed. He slipped into a clean outfit and draped the towel around his shoulders as his hair dried. He moved back to his bed and was about to sit back down when another knock sounded. A huge grin popped onto his face and he raced to the door. "Hello, Hikaru!" he greeted cheerfully once he saw who it was. "Good timing."

Sulu’s errands consisted of all the things he’d neglected during the week, chatting with a classmate for a few moments, lunch with a friend, and speaking with a couple of instructors. He didn’t forget to go pick up Chekov’s assignments from his class, telling the teacher that Pavel simply wasn’t feeling well. By the time he’d gotten everything done it was well into the afternoon. He dropped by his own room to collect his work, heading back to Chekov’s place feeling a bit guilty he’d taken so long.

“Hey, awesome. Thought you’d have been waiting.” He smiled, holding up the bundle of papers and such. “Got your classwork, and the stuff for the project so we can finish that.”

Chekov took the papers gratefully, flipping through them. "Zhanks! And no, I vas just getting a shower." he ran a hand through his hair that was now starting to curl immensly. When Sulu mentioned the project, he nodded and placed the papers on his desk. "Great! I hawe been zhinking about zhat a lot." he grabbed some books out of the backpack. "Vhere deed you vant to study?"

Sulu couldn’t help but smile at the curls, so much curlier than yesterday. He resisted the urge to tug at them, but it was difficult. So curly. “Mind if we move this out to the courtyard? It’s still a great day out.” He asked hopefully. He preferred studying outside when he could, fresh air helped.

Outside? Chekov bit his lip and glanced out the window. It was a gorgeous day out and it would be nice to get out and be in the sun for awhile, but a nice day like today also meant that it would be more crowded out there than usual. He paled some, but nodded, slowly turning back to Sulu. Hikaru would protect him if anything happened. "Alright, zhat sounds good." he forced a small smile so that it would put Sulu at ease that he liked the decision.

Sulu nodded, delighted, leading the way out. It was fairly crowded out there, but he spotted the table they’d sat at the other day and headed over, hopping up to sit top it like he had that first day. All of his work for the project was done, so he busied himself transcribing it into a presentation format. Once he’d finished, he pulled out some of his physics homework, he’d managed to forget it needed to be done the other day, and started on that. It was quiet, except for the gentle noise of the campus.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats my lovely readers, this chappy is extra long. Mainly because I couldn't find any good stopping points that I wanted to stop at.

A while later Sulu stopped, leaning back and holding the book up sideways, tilting his head as if that would make it make more sense. “Hey, Pav, take a look at this for me, will you? I’m fairly sure my answers are gibberish, but I did it just like the instructor said…” He signed, laying the book down and nudging it hopefully toward Chekov. “I don’t want to keep going if I’m doing it wrong...” He leaned back, hands behind him on the table top propping him up as he looked at the clouds.

Hetzi was on a break, having the next few hours free, though his usual gang were all currently attending class. He walked out of his dorm to the courtyard, looking for something to do. He spotted Chekov, smirking a little though the expression drifted once he noticed the brat wasn’t alone. He paused, recognizing the Asian from their starship designs course. Sulu, he was fairly certain was his name, they’d spent a few days working on an inclass project and talking about some of the combat instructors. They still spoke every now and then, on good terms even if they weren’t exactly close friends. The guy was confident and now it looked like they had another thing in common. He watched for a moment as Sulu slid a book to Chekov, grinning a little. Certainly something in common then. Delighted that he’d perhaps have someone new joining his gang, Sulu had not shown much potential thus far, he headed over.

Sulu watched Chekov look over his work for a moment, glancing over as Hetzi slid onto the bench across from Chekov. It barely took him a moment before he recognized him, smiling and twisting round to sit cross legged on the table between the two of them. “Hey, Hetzi, haven’t spoken to you in a while.” He greeted him.

The courtyard wasn't nearly as bad as he expected it to be. It was quiet enough and no one was around that he recognized from yesterday. Chekov let out a sight of relief and set about working on what he had left to do. It wasn't much, but he was going to take his time and get it right.

After awhile Sulu needed help and he nodded with a small smile, starting to look over the subject. No sooner than he had read over the first few sentences than none other than Hetzi came over and slid in across from him. Chekov looked up, not registering someone had approached until Sulu spoke up. He instantly froze, however, upon seeing Hetzi. He nodded once in greeting, sent a nervous look to Sulu, before burying his head back in the book. He tried to read again, but the words were lost on him. Was Sulu comfortable with Hetzi? Were they friends?

Hetzi regarded Chekov for a moment, face twitching in a frown at being ignored, but he turned his own grin to Sulu. “Yeah, been a while. Didn’t know you knew Red here.”

Sulu tilted his head a bit, glancing over at Pavel. Red? Ah, he must mean the hair. He snorted, shaking his head. “And you wonder why I don’t let you nickname me, that’s terrible.”

Chekov kept his head down, but he smiled at Sulu's comment. At least he didn't approve of /that/ nickname. Though, if Sulu really wanted to call him Red he wouldn't mind. It still stung sometimes, however, hearing Hetzi call him that. There was a dip in the conversation and Chekov took this as a chance to maybe ward Hetzi off for the time being. "Here, Sulu," he murmured, nudging the book back. "Zhey are all good except for zhe last one. See? Zhe calculations are vrong." he risked a glance to the unwelcome visitor, eye twitching as he tried to hold back his fear.

Sulu pulled the book over looking down at it with a frown, trying to spot where he’d messed it up. “..really?” He sighed a little, comparing it to one of the other ones.

Hetzi snorted, leaning on the table lazily. “It’d go a lot faster if you’d just fix it Red.”

“Wouldn’t do me much good.” Sulu answered absently, a little distracted by fixing the problem. He finished, looking it over briefly and turning the book to face Chekov.

“Yeah, but why else you got him here?”

Chekov let his head droop, quietly watching Sulu fix the problem and push the book back. He scanned it over and nodded. It was correct now but he still kept his head down, heart racing. Hetzi was starting and once it started there was no stopping the teasing and violence to come. Sulu would find out his secret and not want to be friends anymore and everything would shatter. He could feel tears start to surface but he pushed them down. He had to stand up for himself. He shouldn't have to rely on anyone. Feeling a surge of confidence and still feeling more or less safe with Sulu beside him, Chekov raised his head and boldly looked Hetzi in the eye. "Ve're study partners." he stated quietly.

Hetzi snorted, sneering slightly at Chekov. “Hey pal, finally decided to speak to me? If you’re going to talk that way, could you at least speak up so I can try to sort out what you’re saying?” He said, tone harsh and sarcastic.

Sulu frowned, catching on that Hetzi and Chekov were not on good terms. He closed his book, turning and sliding off the table to stand beside the bench Chekov occupied. Hetzi, he knew, had a temper, and he wasn’t about to get caught vulnerable sitting crosslegged on a table if this took a turn. “That’s enough Hetzi.” He warned.

Chekov bit his tongue, wincing at the sharp tone. He turned his head slightly to look at Sulu as he slid over, but for the most part kept his gaze down. Oh how he wanted to get out of there and run, never looking back. The problem with that plan, however, was that Hetzi wouldn't allow it. And by the smallest chance he /did/ get out, he'd have to leave Sulu behind and he wasn't about to do that.

Hetzi stood up letting out a soft growling hiss. “Oh, come on Sue. Really, how do you even understand him? He’s barely speaking English? Just give him the work, he’ll get it done. I know this great bar we could go and actually have fun.”

Hikaru’s expression went dark, body tensing. His tone was cold when he spoke next, eyes fixed on Hetzi in a sharp look. “I think you should leave now.” He dropped the book on the table, shifting his stance slightly. Hetzi glared back, evaluating his chances. He was taller, likely stronger, than Sulu. However there were plenty of witnesses, and Sulu didn’t seem one to be cowed into submission. He snorted, still tense with anger as he turned away, tossing one last comment over his shoulder as he left. “See you later Red.” This wasn’t nearly over.

It wasn't until Hetzi was gone that Chekov realized he was shaking. He clasped his hands together on the table in an attempt to stop, but it did nothing. He waited until Hetzi had disappeared from view to risk a look at Sulu. The Asian's body language and expression screamed 'anger' and Chekov couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. He returned his gaze to the table, focusing on breathing until his heart had calmed and the trembling stopped.

"...Zhank you." he whispered after awhile.

Sulu didn’t say anything, just sat down next to Chekov on the bench, leaning his elbows on the table and glowering into nothing. Pav hadn’t been kidding about being teased, but something else Hetzi said bothered him. “What did he mean, give you the work to get it done?” He asked, trying not to let the anger color his tone. He hoped, though he honestly knew better, but he hoped it wasn’t what he thought.

Chekov shrugged. "Sometimes I do his and some ozher people's home vork for zhem," he replied softly. Sometimes meaning all the time. Sulu had a right to know and he should've said something sooner, but he didn't know how the guy would take it. Obviously he was angry, hopefully moreso at Hetzi than him. Chekov was okay with that, though, as long as Sulu didn't take his anger out on him.

Hikaru took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before sighing and shifting to face Chekov, cheek laying against one hand as he looked at Pavel. It was wildly unfair to him, not mention it was cheating, though Chekov had to know that already. But besides all that it was dangerous for whoever got stuck serving with these people after graduation. Not only would they not know what was required, but they had no moral character. Unable to find a way to express these thoughts without losing his temper at the unfairness of it all, he just sighed again, trying to keep his tone light. “Any way I could convince you to stop?” That didn’t come out right and he turned to lean his back on the table crossing his arms. He wasn’t trying to blame Chekov, just he didn’t want launch into his own personal ranting opinion about the whole situation.

Chekov peered over at Hikaru as the Asian sighed. There was still anger written on the mans face, but there was also something more... disappointment perhaps? A shudder went through Pavel's body at the thought that he might have disappointed Sulu. He hadn't meant to. In fact, he didn't mean to ever get Sulu or anyone involved.

"Not unless you vant me to die," he replied jokingly, though it held a hint of truth. If he just dropped Hetzi and the others like that, who knew what would happen. Chekov suddenly stood up and started to gather his books, emotion rearing up again. "I should to go..." he stammered, stepping out from the bench. "I don't vant you to get inwolwed."

Sulu looked back at Chekov, startled. Go? “Pav, wait, come on, don’t leave.” He stood up, fulling intending on tailing Chekov where ever it was he was going if he needed too. “I’m sorry I upset you. I just want to help.” He was still angry, yes, but now he was far more worried and concerned. Especially about that dying part. Which he would certainly need to address later. After he convinced Pav not to ditch him.

Pavel had only gotten as far as the end of the table before he stopped. He hesitated. Sulu actually wanted to /help/ him?

The Russian turned around, ignoring the tears that were starting to fall down his cheeks. "I don't vant you to get hurt," he squeaked.

Feeling a sharp relief that Chekov had stopped, Sulu gave him a worried smile. “What me? No, I’ll be fine. Really, it’s you I’m worried about.” He wasn’t concerned about his own well-being, he made high enough scores in his combat courses, not to mention his hobby was fencing.

Chekov shook his head. "Don't vorry about me, I am used to eet. You, on zhe ozher hand..." he shook his head again and took a step back, resting his head on the books in his arms. "Eet happens so quick, Karu." he murmured, trying to steady his breath. "You are a good person. Zhe /best/ person! I-I don't vant you to lose zhat just by helping me."

Sulu ran a hand through his hair, doing his best to calm down. Used to it… He shook his head a little, jaw tense. Kid shouldn’t be /used/ to it. “We’re friends Pavel, I’m /going/ to worry about you. You think I’m just going to leave you just because you have problems?”

"Eweryone else did. Hetzi alvays scares zhem away." he nodded, now rooted to the ground. The urge to run was back, but there was no where to go. Wherever he ran, the teasing and torment always followed.

It stung a little, that Chekov though that. But Hikaru had to admit, if only to himself, that it really shouldn’t be that surprising. They hadn’t know each other long, but for him the friendship just sort of clicked. It had barely been over a day and he felt like Chekov had been there forever, just belonged. “Well, you’re just going to have to get used to me. I’m not afraid of Hetzi.” He told him, meaning every word. Even if Chekov decided he didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore, Sulu would still do his best to look out for him.

Chekov took a few steps forward, carefully watching Sulu's expression. "You're... not scared?" he repeated softly, surprised. /Everyone/ was scared of Hetzi. He was the biggest guy on campus, at least in Pavel's mind he was. Whatever Hetzi wanted, he got, whether it was fair or not. The books grew heavy so Chekov placed them on the table, but his eyes were still watching Hikaru. "Y-You're really going to stay?"

Sulu smiled a little. “Yeah, Pavel, I’m going to stay.” He’d repeat it a thousand times if he had to.

That was it. That was what he needed to hear. Unable to control his emotions, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the man, silently crying into his shirt. "то, что дис я сделал, чтобы заслужить вас?" he mumbled, inadvertantly reverting back to Russian.

Sulu held Chekov, letting him cry as long as he wanted. He grinned a tiny bit catching the Russian words, not understanding it a bit. “Are we showing off languages now? Because I can do that too?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood some.

The tears stopped but Chekov still clung. He looked up at Sulu, putting his chin on the Asian's chest. "I'm sorry," he said, giving a tiny smile. "Eet's just zhat... Newermind." he shook his head. Now wasn't the time to pour out his heart. "V-vhat languages can you speak?" he inquired. He sniffed audibly, rubbing his eyes.

Sulu chuckled. “Japanese, and English of course.” He ruffled the kid’s hair, grinning down at him. “And don’t worry about it. No need to say sorry.” He turned a little, still letting Chekov keep his hold on him, picking up the books under one arm. It was getting darker, and if he remembered correctly it was supposed to rain sometime that evening. “Come one, we should get going. I’ve got a day full of classes tomorrow and you probably need sleep just as much as me.”

Chekov chuckled at the hair ruffle. Only his father ever did it gently like that. Normally he would've shied away from it, but he knew it was just an innocent playful thing. Sulu would never hurt him. He nodded and glanced up at the sky and watching as the clouds rolled in. He shivered, holding tighter to his new friend as the wind started to blow. "Sleep sounds good," he sighed, smiling drowsily. He placed his feet onto Sulu's, not ready to step away yet.

Hikaru chuckled, walking a step exaggeratedly with Chekov before nudging him a little. “We’ll get rained on at this pace.” Not that he minded Chekov being that close, he was actually fairly surprised and pleased. But he didn’t want to get rained on, and rain on his homework would mean he’d have to do it again, tonight, before he could go to bed.

Chekov laughed and sent Sulu a mock disappointed look. "Alright," he said, stepping off. He started to walk backwards, holding his arms out for his books. "I can take zhem now," he stated.

Sulu laughed at that, shaking his head and shifting them into a better grip. “You want em back, you gotta take em.”

Chekov stopped, looking at Sulu with both a determined and amused look. His eyes flickered to the books a moment later and he stuck out his tongue in concentration. Without a word, he reached up and grabbed hold of a few books. His hands were too small to hold all of them at once the way Sulu was holding them, so he decided to go with a few at a time. He at first tried to pull them away, but Hikaru had a good grip and it was futile. He then simply decided to latch on, knuckles white. "I'm not going anyvhere," he stated with an impish grin, looking at the Asian with a raised eyebrow.

Hikaru just looked at Chekov with a raised brow. After a moment he smirked, lifting his arms as high as he could, huffing a little at the extra weight, but still able to lift him. “You need to eat something, these books weigh more than you.” He commented.

Chekov blinked as he was lifted up, inwardly panicking slightly now that his feet weren't on the ground. He kept his gaze locked on Sulu, now that they were face to face. He giggled. "Eweryone alvays tells me to eat more," he replied with a small shrug. "I eet vehn I am hungry. Vhat else ees zhere to do?" His arms grew tired and instinctively he glanced down. Immediately his breath hitched. In truth he wasn't terribly high, but flashbacks came swirling forward and fear clutched at his throat. "Put me down please," he murmured quickly, eyes frozen downward.

Sulu chuckled, shaking his head a little. “Snacks Chekov. That’s what else there is.” He lowered Chekov down when he asked, frowning a little in concern. “Sorry…” He said guiltily, feeling terrible for having scared Chekov. He shifted back slightly, giving him space. “You okay?”

Chekov took a few deep breaths, calming down some before nodding. "Yes, I am fine." he looked back up at Sulu and forced a smile. "Zhank you. Eet just... I don't like heights." there was more to that statement, but he wasn't ready to elaborate just yet. Something wet landed on his nose just then and he looked up. More drops started to fall and he laughed, grabbing Sulu's hand. "Come on! Ve must go!" he exclaimed, before setting off at a run towards the door.

He wasn’t sure whether he should press the issue or not, but he didn’t have the opportunity anyway as the raid started. He looked up for a moment before feeling Chekov grab his hand, towing him along. They managed to get indoors without getting too drenched, and Sulu was laughing along with Chekov by the time he got inside.

He headed towards Chekov’s room, shuffling the books around to separate his own.

Chekov trotted along beside Sulu, quickly scruffing his hair to get the extra water droplets off it. All in all, it had been a good day. Only one small run in with Hetzi that amounted to nothing, and he got to spend a bunch of time with Sulu. He hoped the following days would be like this. No one seemed to bother him when he was around the Asian and Sulu actually seemed to care about him. Chekov had so much to owe him. He hoped he could pay it back well enough. "Good luck at zhe exam tomorrow," he started as they neared his room. "Sure you can handle eet?"

Sulu nodded absently. “Yeah, I’m confident I’ll be fine.” He handed Chekov his books as they stopped outside the Russian’s rooms. “I might read over he notes again before bed, just to make sure though.” He shrugged, knowing he should but wasn’t exactly feeling it. “Anyway, won’t be able to hang out much tomorrow, but I’ll see you Tuesday for the presentation, and we can hang out in-between classes then if you’re not busy.” He turned to go, pausing and glancing back. “Text me whenever too, I usually answer.” He grinned, waving shortly and heading to his own room.


	10. Chapter 10

The first half of Monday dragged. Classes were slow, he was distracted, the exam was long and difficult, and Sulu arrived at his afternoon class to find it had been cancelled. He leaned against the door, banging his head against it in frustration. Of course it would be the day that he’d not checked his messages, so had come all this way, fully prepared and now had nothing to do. He sighed, straightening and glaring at the door for a moment. Fine, so free couple hours.

He headed out the building, looking around at empty courtyard. It was drizzling slightly, the sky a dull grey, thunder rolling in the distance. He skirted around the side of the building, keeping under the overhand to avoid getting rained on. Maybe he should head his next class early? But no, he figured, there was little point to that, he would just end up sitting in the hall waiting.

He was dragged rudely from his thoughts as he was walking by and overpass, a body moving forward to shove him roughly sideways. He cursed, landing roughly on the wet grass, backpack sliding a foot away. “You know, you were really rude to me yesterday.” Sulu looked up to see Hetzi, flanked by two others, standing under the overhand looking down at him.

Hikaru frown, standing up and straightening his uniform. “I wasn’t the rude one Hetzi. You should know better than to treat people like that.” He kept his eyes on the trio, they had the advantage of the high ground, the concrete of the building’s foundation raising them a good two feet above the ground. His uniform was darkening with moisture as the rain grew heavier, but he paid it no attention.

Hetzi hopped from the concrete, stalking forward with an angry expression. “I’d suggest you start paying me some respect, /Sue/.” He snarled, placing a hand on Sulu’s chest and pushing roughly.

The fight that followed was short, bit messy due to the rain, and ended with a couple security intervening. The administrator they were brought to knew both of them, and after lecturing them for an hour he sent them off with a warning. Needless to say, Sulu was not in a good mood. He’d missed his last class of the day, had been assigned to assist a class of junior recruits to ‘teach him patience’ or so the administrator had said, and he wanted little more than to go relax. He headed back to his room, knowing he looked a mess and glaring at anyone who looked at him sideways.

A day without classes was, quite frankly, boring. He had taken a nap and felt fine aside from a few sore spots. Chekov was simply staring out the window now, watching the rain fall, when a thought came to him; why not visit Hikaru? A quick glance at the clock told him that the man's last class was over, and he was probably simply sitting in his quarters studying. Maybe he could help or something. Chekov smirked at this thought and hopped off the bed, grabbing his jacket. He considered sending Sulu a text, but decided that it would be more fun to surprise him. They were buddies after all, and isn't that what friends did? Drop by whenever? Besides, he needed his assignments. And it couldn't hurt to catch up on the days events. With that in mind, Pavel moved into the hall and started making his way towards Sulu's dorm, a small grin on his face.

Sulu arrived at his room, having glowered at least three people away from talking to him. He dropped his backpack down, looking at it with disgust. He really hoped the contents were salvageable. He pulled his shirt over his head, shivering a bit at the cold, but really just wanting to get clean. He froze, half turned to go clean up when there was a knock. He groaned, sighing and running a hand through his hair, face pulling a disgusted look at the gunky feeling. Completely fed up, bit sore and exhausted, he stormed over to the door, yanking it open and snapping out a sharp ‘WHAT?’ before he noticed who it was.

Chekov jumped at the shout, cowering back slightly. He looked Sulu up and down with wide eyes, both fearful and worried. Perhaps sending a text ahead of time would've been best... "I am sorry," he murmured quickly, taking another small step back. "I didn't mean to bozher you. I just zhought..." he trailed off and shook his head, expression turning into one of full concern. "Are you olay?"  
Sulu sighed again, rubbing a hand down his face (which did /not/ help the mud situation), muttering an apology. “Sorry, it’s fine. I’m fine.” He stepped back, silent invitation for Chekov to come in if he wanted. “It’s a long story, but I’m fine.”

Chekov blinked, watching as the mud smeered even more at Sulu's action. He stifled a giggle and hesitantly stepped in, trying to avoid the muddy footprints. He sat down on the bed and crossed his legs, tilting his head curiously at Sulu with a smile. "Vhat vere you doing? Hawing a mud battle?" he laughed. "You should hawe inwited me. Zhat vould be fun!"

Hikaru snorted, pacing a little frowning. “No. No it would not have been. That fuc—“ He cut himself off, glancing at Chekov briefly, lips pressed together tightly. He stopped abruptly looking down at himself. “I need a shower.” Not only would he feel better, but maybe that would calm him down. Because if he could, he’d love to go find Hetzi and finish what he’d started. “Your class assignments are in there.” He tossed a hand at the backpack, jaw twitching irritably as he looked at it. “Just…. See if you can save any of it. I’ll be back…” Huffing another little growly sigh, he turned to go shower, really needing to get ahold of himself.

Chekov's smile slowly died as Sulu spoke, voice tense. He nodded silently, gaze drifting to the backpack and staying there until Sulu had disappeared into the bathroom. Once he was gone, Chekov let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and set about taking things out of the backpack. Everything was surprisingly intact. A few papers were thrown around and crumpled at the edges, but at least everything was dry. Humming a light Russian tune to keep him calm, he started to organize the homework, both his /and/ Sulu's, placing it on the bed.

Sulu took his time, just trying to wash the tension away. It kinda worked. He wasn’t quite so enraged anymore, mostly just extremely irritated. Irritated at the ruined shirt, having to deal with the mess of mud on the floor, deal with his course work, Hetzi. He cursed lowly, shaking his head. This was the opposite of calming down. Bout 20 minutes later he emerged, dressed in black sweatpants, rubbing a towel over his hair. He pause, not expecting Chekov to still be there. And organizing stuff?

Chekov turned his head briefly as he heard the door open. He sent a small smile to Sulu, before turning back to his work. He was just putting the last few things in place and he soon stood up, finished. "Eweryzhing ees fine," he stated, gesturing to the papers. "You hawe a good backpack." he blinked, making a conscious effort to keep his eyes on Hikaru's face. Despite them both being men, it still felt a little... Awkward that Sulu was standing there shirtless.

Sulu nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” Shaking off the surprise, he tossed the towel over the muddy parts of the floor, crossing over to ruffle around and find a clean shirt. “You didn’t have to worry bout my stuff you know. But thanks. I meant to come by your room with it but…” He shrugged, standing up and tugging a shirt on. He gave Chekov a little smile, still kinda tense, but not so angry.

Chekov smiled, though his eyes were now locked on the floor. "I vanted to do eet," he stated, looking up as Sulu turned away to find a shirt. "And I zhought I'd surprise you," he added with a small shrug. His eyes instantly narrowed, however, as he noticed a bruise or two starting to form on the Asian's back. "Hikaru!" he cried, unable to help himself. He rushed forward, gently putting a warm hand on the injury. He drew back as Sulu slipped on the shirt, but still kept the horrified expression. "H-Hikaru, vhat happened?" his voice had lowered, shaking some. Had he been in a fight? That would explain the mud. But why, why had Sulu been in a fight? What was he not telling him?

Cursing to himself, Sulu grimaced. This had not been the plan. Really had been hoping he’d get away without explaining, especially as Chekov hadn’t noticed earlier… “It’s nothing Pav, I’m fine.” He smiled, trying to be reassuring. “Long story, like I said. This is nothing, I’m fine.”

Chekov frowned deeply and shook his head. "Karu, I don't care how long zhe story ees. I vant to hear eet. I don't vant you to get hurt. Maybe zhere's somezhing I can do." if it had anything to do with Hetzi he /knew/ there was something he could do. At the very least, he could make sure Sulu wasn't beat up again.

Rolling his eyes some, Sulu walked over to flop down on the bed, laying on his back. “Once upon a time…” He started, looking over at Chekov with a mischievous smirk.

Chekov let out a small giggle at that. "You know vhat I mean." he came over and flopped down on Sulu's stomach, gently resting his elbows on the man's chest and looking down at him. "I'm not getting up until you tell me vhat happened."

“Okay, okay.” Sulu chuckled. “But I’d like to start out by saying I definitely won, and I’m not hurt I promise.” He stated, lifting an eyebrow.

Chekov smirked, rolling his eyes playfully. "Yeah, you von alright." he laughed quietly. "You're gonna end up looking like me eef you keep zhis up." his laugh was cut short as he realized what he had said. He ducked his head, unconsciously tugging the sleeves of his uniform up over his hands.

Sulu shook his head. “Hang out with me I’ll teach you how to win too.” He smirked a little. That actually wasn’t a half bad suggestion. He’d have to ask the kid later if he’d taken any of the lower combat courses. He shook that thought away for now, turning his attention to explaining what had happened. “Had an extra bit of time before a class, since one was cancelled. And I was headed over to my next course early, cuz I didn’t have anything else to do. Hetzi decided he’d like to chat, he was irritated bout the other day. He said some things, I said somethings, he called me a nickname I don’t like and pushed me. I may have punched him.”

What did Sulu mean by "winning"? Obviously it was winning in a fight, but how? He shook his head slightly, deciding not to dwell on that right now. Instead, he focused on Sulu story, eyebrows furrowing. So it was Hetzi after all. Chekov had strongly assumed, but now that it was confirmed it was so much more real. He took a deep breath and rolled off of Sulu, lying on the ground now. "I told you not to get inwolwed..." he whispered, closing his eyes. Sulu was hurt now, and it was all his fault.

Sulu sat up, looking down at Chekov with concern. He thought for a moment, smirking slowly and nudging Pavel with a foot. “I look like the guy who does what he’s told? Come on, it’s not the first fight I’ve been in.” Yeah, most of the fights he was in now a days were those in the combat courses, but that wasn’t the point. Hikaru was /very/ glad he hadn’t mentioned Hetzi’s friends. Pav was this worked up over just Hetzi.

Chekov opened his eyes and looked up at Sulu. "You hawe been een ozhers?" he questioned quietly, before shaking his head. "No. Don't tell me." he sighed and sat up. He stared blankly at the wall for a few seconds, thinking, before suddenly jumping to his feet and looking at Sulu seriously. "I hawe to go," he stated, eyes locking onto Hikaru's for a few moments, before he turned and started gathering his things.

Sulu frowned, tilting his head watching Chekov. “Yeah, okay.” He was a little concerned about how the kid was acting, but he didn’t seem upset with him or anything. “See you tomorrow?”

Chekov nodded and forced a smile to reassure Sulu. "Definitely." he started to head to the door, but hesitated, turning back. "And don't vorry, I just hawe to catch up on some homevork." Another fake smile. "See ya."


	11. Chapter 11

Hetzi, after having cleaned himself up following the fight, was hanging out in the lounge of his dorm building. He was still smarting some from the stupid Asian, though given his tougher skin he didn’t sport any bruising. He had a drink in one hand, silently fuming, feet propped up on a coffee table in front of him.

It didn't take terribly long, nor was it hard to find Hetzi. Chekov knew most of his hang out spots, mostly so that he knew to avoid him, but he never thought he'd actually go looking for him. Depsite his fear and trembling legs, Chekov lifted his head and walked over to Hetzi, coming to a stop beside his chair. "Can I speak vith you?" he questioned, being sure to keep his voice cool and level, but also holding the right amount of reverence. You could never be too sure.

Hetzi looked up at Chekov, taking a slow drink before standing up, face blank as he looked down at the Russian. He’s looks Chekov over for a moment, lip curling. “What.” The statement is curt, Hetzi taking another long drink from his glass.

Chekov pales slightly as Hetzi rises, straightening to his full figure. He tilts his head up, but other than that, he manages to keep his face neutral. "I vas vondering vhy you picked on Sulu today." his heart was pounding fast now and he was sure everyone could hear it.

Hetzi chuckled, nodding slightly to himself. “Knew he’d be the girl.” He shifted a little, taking another drink and smirking at Chekov. “Boyfriend send ya to fight his battles?” He scoffed lightly. “Punk had it comin, mouthin off like he did.” Hetzi was a little beyond tipsy, chuckling and reaching over to ruffle Chekov’s hair roughly.

Chekov wasn't sure what Hetzi meant by his first statement, but his second sent a fierce blush onto Chekov's cheeks. He flinched away from the touch, terror starting to resurface. He forced it down, though he couldn't help but hunch down some and tense. "No, he didn't send me," he replied, voice holding a small amount of anger. "And he vasn't zhe one "mouzhing off". He vas simply trying to protect me and he shouldn't need to. It vas /me/ who vas talking back. Not him." he blinked, looking up at Hetzi. He hoped the guy didn't think Chekov was blaming him. Though he may have been lowkey doing that, the Russian simply wanted to get the fact across that it wasn't Sulu's fault, but his. Even if it wasn't, Chekov only wanted to protect his new friend.

Hetzi laughed at Chekov’s blush, reaching over to grab Chekov to drag him to sit back on the couch. Hetzi leaned back once more as he sat down, kicking his feet back up on the table and pouring some more amber liquid into his cup from the bottle on the floor. “No need to be shy Red. Course he’d send you. Should have heard him today, me ‘nd the boys...” He drank again, eyes on Chekov. “Course we did get interrupted before we could really teach him anything. You sayin I got it wrong?” He frowned, feet dropping to the floor as he leaned forward, glaring drunkenly at Chekov.

Chekov let out a small yelp as he was dragged to the couch. He scooted to the side as much as possible, pressing against the arm. He watched Hetzi warily, noting the glazed look in his eyes. He took a few breaths. Things were only going to get worse from here and he knew he should leave, but there was no safe way to exit. Who knows what Hetzi would do especially when under the influence. Chekov thought of the phone tucked in his pocket and he considered sending a quick text to Sulu, but he decided against it as Hetzi would call him a baby and the whole reason he was here was to clear Hikaru's name. Calling him here would only defeat the purpose. "I don't zhink you vere vrong," he stated slowly, carefully choosing his words. "But I don't zhink you should take eet out on Sulu. Of all people eet should be me."

Hetzi sneered at that, satisfied with the answer and leaning back again. “How chivalrous.” He studied Chekov for a moment, smirking. “I’m not sure he’s such a great influence on you Red, givin ya ideas. Talkin back. How you ‘spossed to make a good officer that way, huh?” Hetzi laughed, leaning over and patting Chekov’s shoulder harshly then gripping it tightly. “Jus tryin to help ya pal.” He shook Chekov some, shoving him and leaning back chuckling and drinking some more.

Chekov bit his tongue. Sulu was a good officer. He had good ways. Hetzi was the one with bad ideas. He stiffened at the touch, rising slowly to his feet as soon as Hetzi let off. "Just don't hurt him, okay?"  
Hetzi frowned, standing up a little wobbly. “You tryn to tell me what to do?” There were a few people watching them with curious amused looks. Hetzi took no notice of them, anger focused on the short kid in front of him.

Chekov took a small step back. He had an advantage and could easily get away from Hetzi now, but who knew how many of his buddies lurked in the watching crowd. "No," he replied slowly, struggling to keep his voice steady. "I vas just saying zhat you didn't hawe to hurt him. He doesn't know vhat he's doing." he was running out of options and Hetzi was getting suspicious. Things were starting to turn sour and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Tossing his now empty cup down, glass shattering on the floor, Hetzi took a step forward, grabbing at Chekov with an angry curse. How dare the little punk talk down to him like that. A couple of spectators stood up, not exceptionally wanting a fight to break out in their dorm house, but too wary of Hetzi to actually step forward between the two right now.

Chekov jumped, eyes flickering to the broken glass for a split second. His eyes were immediately back on Hetzi, however, and he managed to doge the first grab. He started to back up, glancing around at the people who stood up. Hetzi's advance brought his eyes back over and he tensed, still continuing his backwards trek. The wall would come up soon and he was starting to run out of room.

Hetzi wasn’t exactly steady on his feet, but he kept his eyes on Chekov, scowling as he moved forward. “All I’ve done for you an this is how you repay me you ungrateful little brat.” He growled, backing Chekov up against the wall and reaching forward to grab the kids shirt collar and slamming him to the wall. He twisted the material, tightening it around Chekov’s throat, lifting him up to his own eye level. “I should break your fucking neck, you little snit.”

Slammed against the wall, Chekov saw stars for a few seconds. A pressure started to grow around his neck and at first it was just him, but a moment later when his feet were off the ground he came to the conclusion that it was Hetzi's doing. He started to gasp, the air slowly draining. "V-vhat did I do?" he choked out, clutching Hetzi's hands and trying to pry them looser. He thought he had gone about things right, yet here he was, being choked to death by a six foot something alien. He was starting to feel dizzy at this point, when a voice from the side grabbed his attention. "Yo, Hetzi, let him go. We don't need a murder on our hands."

Hetzi let out a little growl, glancing over and muttering in his native language. He turned back to sneer at Chekov, shifting his grip a little so the kid could breathe. He pulled him close, speaking in a low dark tone. “Don’t think I’m done with you.” He all but threw Chekov to the ground, turning and walking at a stumbling gait to retrieve the drink bottle and headed to his own room.

Chekov took a few deep breaths and whimpered quietly, staring back at Hetzi. The threat wasn't taken lightly, and immediately his mind was running with all sorts of thoughts and what could happen. He landed heavily on the floor, curling into a ball as he waited for Hetzi to leave. As soon as he did, Chekov hopped up and darted out the door, running as fast as he could. Where? It didn't matter, he just had to get away.


	12. Chapter 12

Sulu spent most of the next day feeling slightly off, but refusing to admit to himself he was sick. No. He was fine, thank you very much. So he joked with his friends, had lunch, did the presentation in class and made excuses to rush out and not hang around afterwards.

Wednesday didn’t go much better, even if Hikaru only had a couple early morning classes. After class he’d snuck back to his room, he’d had to practically sneak out the classroom window to avoid Jale today. He just wasn’t up for it. He was currently laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, convincing himself he was not nauseous at all, and his head did not, in fact, hurt.

Sighing, shivering a tiny bit, he pulled a cover over him, taking out his phone. He’d basically ditched Chekov the other day so he’d text him. He was too tired to go over to Pav’s place. Not to mention he might not be there, and he didn’t want to expend all that energy if he wasn’t home. “Hey Pav. Sry bout the other day. Got a question for ya.”

It had been a few days since he'd seen Hikaru. Chekov was back at his classes, yet he hadn't seen the Asian around. He was starting to get worried, scared that they're friendship was at stake or Hetzi had done something. Sure, he could always text, but for some reason whenever he picked up his phone to do so, something stopped him and he ended up studying instead. His last class of the day was over and he was walking back to his dorm, when in his pocket, his phone vibrated. Chekov sighed, figuring it was a classmate asking when something was due or if he could do something for them. He was surprised to see that it was from Sulu and he paused in the hallway, moving to the side. "Yeah?" he promptly replied, leaning against the wall.

“Been thinkin, you wanna learn some defense moves?” Sulu replied quickly before getting up to fetch some water. He wasn’t sure if he expected Pav to agree or not. Probably it would take some convincing. He made a face, looking at the bottle unhappily. Gross. Lukewarm. He tossed it aside, going to sit cross-legged on the bed and staring at the phone, waiting.

Chekov frowned at his phone, paling slightly. Why would Sulu ask that? He was never one to fight - always been to scrawny. Still, he supposed it /would/ be nice to learn a few moves, even if he knew he could never take on Hetzi. "It couldn't hurt, I guess." he texted back.

Sulu grinned, coughing a tiny bit. That had been easy. “It’ll be good. Whens yr next free time?” He’d take any opportunity he could to help the kid take care of himself.

Chekov smirked. Sulu was so eager to get started. "I'm free now, actually. Meet you somewhere?"

Sulu blink for a minute at the message that came next. He hadn’t expected him to say now. But he wasn’t going to pass this up. He was feeling a bit more energetic, full of a kind of ‘I just won’ feeling seeing as Chekov had agreed in the first place. “Gym?”

He hopped up, heading to the bathroom to rinse his face. The gym was likely empty at this time of day, so they should have plenty of space. And Chekov might feel more comfortable. Probably.

Chekov stared at his phone for awhile. The gym? He had never actually gone to the gym before. He frowned, but sent a quick "okay. Meet you in a few" before slipping the phone back into his pocket and hurrying to his dorm. It shouldn't be too hard to find. Besides, there were various map stations located about. He wondered what Sulu had in mind of teaching him. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard. Or that it would need much muscle. It didn't take long for him to put his backpack in his room and locate the gym. It was in a fairly well known area, thankfully, and was no trouble to find. Chekov walked in, nerves starting to grow. There was barely anyone there, and yet he felt self conscious and scared in this new place.

Sulu took those few minutes to change, heading down to the gym. He smiled, seeing Chekov, and headed over. “Hey Pav!” He greeted him with a little wave. His voice might have been a little scratchy, though he’d deny it. “Wasn’t expecting you to agree to be honest.” Sulu was doing pretty good acting his usual energetic self, though he could feel the exhaustion creeping back. Whatever, he could sleep later. “Anyway.” He shook his head a little, getting his mind back on topic. “You taken any of the combat courses? Most of the first few lessons are bout defense. Figured I’d show ya those?”

Chekov jumped, whirling around to see Sulu. A smile was instantly on his face and he returned the wave, walking forward. The man looked quite pale and there was something... Off about his voice. Before Chekov had a chance to question it, however, Sulu was off chattering about defense moves. "Er, no, I hawen't done a combat class." he ducked his head with a sheepish grin. He had thought about it and he knew it was mandatory, but he was always giving an excuse. Now there was no chance to back out, but Sulu was teaching him and he felt okay with that. "And sure, vhatewer you zhink ees best to start vith."

Sulu nodded, having figured on Chekov’s answer. “Ok, so first off, you gotta learn how to stand. For you, because most everyone is bigger than you, you’ll want to focus more on dodging than blocking. You’ll want to keep your guard up.” He demonstrated what he meant, explaining more details, moving forward to adjust Chekov’s stance appropriately where needed. “Then you just gotta be ready to move as needed. Questions so far?”

Chekov watched Sulu's demonstrations, trying to copy as best as he could. He thought he was doing okay, and was relieved to know that he wouldn't actually have to /fight/ anyone. He could just rely on speed. A question popped up in his mind, however, and he waited until Sulu had finished speaking. "Yes, I hawe a question. Vhat happens eef zhe opponent picks you up? Speed cannot help you zhere."

“You’ll want to avoid that if at all possible. If your opponent is strong enough to pick you up, close combat’s a bad idea. Same applies to getting pinned on the ground. ” He paused for a moment, turning and coughing before looking back. He cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Best you could hope for in that situation is to kick, try and break their hold and get some distance. Wear them down before fighting back, in the event you can’t get away.” Running would likely be Chekov’s best bet if Sulu was being perfectly honest. And there wasn’t any shame in /not/ fighting.

Chekov nodded, listening closely to what Sulu had to say. All the other times he had been too scared to do anything and simply thought that curling up was your best bet at protection. Perhaps with this new knowledge he would be able to protect himself better. He was about ready to move on, when he started to study Sulu. "Karu," he began worriedly, stepping closer. "Your adwice ees good, yes, but... Are you sure you are up for teaching me? You look horrible..."

Sulu put on a grin, waving a hand. “I’m fine, yeah. Just a little cough. It’s probably allergies or something.” He hoped it was, and was just going to go with that. He /hated/ being sick. He’d deny it as long as he could. Even if he was sweating in a perfectly cool gym room and his headache had returned full force.

Chekov frowned, shaking his head. "No. Ve are taking a break." without waiting for protest, Chekov grabbed Sulu's hand and led him to a bench. He looked at the Asian for a few seconds, seeing if he would actually stay, before going to get a cup of cold water. He returned moments later, pushing the cup into Sulu's hands.

Sulu followed Chekov to the bench without arguing, sitting down with a slight sigh. He accepted the water, looking at Pav. “I’m fine, really.” He went to take a sip of the water, half choking as he started coughing halfway through drinking it. After a minute or so of coughing and not drowning himself, Hikaru sat back, rubbing his forehead with a frown.

Chekov bit his tongue with concern and sat down next to Sulu, rubbing his back. "You are not fine," he persisted, swinging his legs. "You must see a doctor. Defense lessons can vait."

“Okay, so I’m a little tired, not feeling all that great, but I don’t need a doctor.” He tried, glancing at Chekov. “Just some rest, I’ll be fine after a nap.”

Chekov let out a small sigh and looked at Sulu. "Alright. Go nap. But eef you don't take eet easy zhe next few days you're going to a doctor." he raised an eyebrow. "I vill be keeping an eye on you."

Sulu paused at that. He wasn’t actually tired, just trying to avoid going to medical. “You wanna hang out still? Don’t want to spread it or anything… But I’d like some company?” He felt a little awkward asking. He didn’t want to get Chekov sick, but mostly he didn’t want Pav to be weirded out. Sulu hated being sick, but he hated it more being sick on his own. Holing up in his room feeling like crap was really the worst thing ever.

Chekov laughed. "Of course I'll keep you company!" he had been planning on staying anyway, to make sure Sulu actually rested. He stood up and stepped back, giving Sulu some room. "Do you need more vater or anyzhing before ve go?"

Sulu shook his head, smiling. “No, I’m fine, thanks.” Thanks for the offer and for hanging out. He stood up as well, coughing again. “Let’s get outta here, go relax, watch a movie or something and not move.” He suggested, chuckling.

Chekov nodded, moving towards the door. He held it open for Sulu and waited until they were outside to speak. "I know just zhe mowie!" he exclaimed excitedly, lightly skipping beside Hikaru. "Eet's called Brozher Bear. Ewer heard of eet?" he looked to Sulu with sparkling eyes, wondering if the other was aware of his favorite childhood movie.

Sulu shook his head, half watching Chekov skip. It exhausted him just watching, so he looked forward. “Sounds nice. Bears are cool.” He headed to Chekov’s room, because if that’s what they were watching he sure hoped Chekov had it. He wasn’t really up to going hunting for it through the library.

Chekov was slightly disappointed that Sulu hadn't heard of it, and the man's unenthusiastic nature didn't go unnoticed by him, so Pavel decided to fill the silence with the plot. Or rather, the whole story. He finished once they got to his room and he paused at the door, digging around for his key. Once found, he handed it to Sulu and grinned. "Here, go een and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go grab some food from zhe cafeteria. Vant anyzhing specific?" he already had soup in mind, and maybe some orange juice.

Sulu half listened, mostly concentrating on walking. He took the key, smiling back at Pav’s grin. “Uh, something easy to eat?” He shrugged, not really picky. He was hungry, but only in a vague way. But he knew he should eat.

Chekov giggled quietly and nodded. "Just soup, zhen," he stated, before giving a little wave and turning on his heel. He was thankful that the cafeteria wasn't far, as he was eager to return and tend to Sulu. He quickly moved to one of the replicators, putting in his order and rocking on his heels as he waited.


	13. Chapter 13

Jale was frowning, looking around the crowded cafeteria. Suus had been dodging her for the past few days, though she’d nearly cornered him earlier today. Catching sight of the short kid, Chez or something, she jogged over, tapping his shoulder lightly to get his attention.

Chekov jumped, spinning around to face the woman. He looked up at her with a tense, confused expression. It was Sulu's friend. What did she want? "Hello," he greeted politely, giving a small nod.  
Jale smiled at him politely, tilting her head slightly. “How’s Suus. Hikaru, I mean.” She clarified, unsure if the kid knew the nickname she called Sulu.

A flash of confusion flickered over Chekov's eyes for a moment, but when she used Sulu's full name he understood. He replied with a small shrug, turning to grab the tray that held their food. "He ees sick right now," he stated simply, looking back up at her. "Do you vant me to deliwer a message?"

Jale shook her head. “No, if he’s sick I’ll let him slide.” She smiled, shrugging slightly. “He’s been avoiding me. Guess he's been spending time with you. Glad he found someone, that’s nice.”

Chekov frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take all of his attention..." he ducked his head. Had Sulu really been avoiding all his other friends? Come to think about it, they /had/ been spending a bunch of time together. It never worried him before but know Chekov was concerned that he was being to clingy.

Jale laughed lightly. “Oh, no. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a little odd. Last time he got a new boyfriend he wouldn’t shut up about him.” She and the others had been speculating, each of them had seen the two together. “Sorry, I shouldn’t take up any more of your time, you’re here for food, not to talk to me. Tell him I say hi, and get better soon ok?” She smiled once more, waving cheekily and heading out.

Boyfriend? Chekov had snapped his head up at that, yet there was no hint of teasing on Jale's face. Before he had a chance to ask her about it, she was gone and he was left puzzled. Did she mean boyfriend as in a new friend that's a boy, or... /boyfriend/? Chekov frowned, forcing his legs to move forward. Is that why Sulu was giving him so much attention? Looking out for him like he did? There was only one way to find out. Chekov hurried back to his room, pushing the door open with his back once he got there. He remained silent in case Sulu had drifted to sleep, carefully setting the tray on the desk.

Sulu was sprawled out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Now that he was not moving, and thinking of food, he was pretty hungry. And he’d missed most of the description of the movie they were supposed to watch and was really curious about it. He looked over as Chekov returned, sitting up, curious what kind of food he’d brought.

Chekov glanced over as Sulu sat up, quickly looking away a second later. "I got some chicken noodle soup and orange juice," he murmured, placing his meal on the desk. He gave the tray to Sulu, knowing it would be easier to eat on the bed with it, then settled down in the desk chair to eat his. He stared silently down into his soup, stirring it absently. "Zhat girl, Jale I zhink her name vas, asked about you."

Sulu accepted the soup with a grin. He didn’t usually go for soup, but he had to admit, it was a better choice for when he wasn’t feeling well. “Thanks.” He ate happily, glancing up at Chekov when he mentioned Jale. “Yeah?”

Chekov nodded, taking a small bite. "She asked vhere you vere, how you vere doing." he paused, taking a deep breath and setting the spoon down. "S-she said somezhing zhat I don't understand..." he grew nervous and his heart started to pound. "She said somezhing about me being your boyfriend." he said it quickly, basically all in one breath. He blushed afterwards, hesitantly turning to face Sulu.

Sulu stopped at that, blinking and putting his food down. “She did?” He asked warily. He wanted to groan, of course Jale would say that. She was the /worst/ at jumping to conclusions. “I… did /not/ say that we were. We’re just friends, I’ll make sure she gets that when I see her next.” He said quickly, a little tense as he watched Chekov for his reaction.

Chekov fiddled with the end of his uniform, eyes looking anywhere /but/ Sulu. "She also said you had been awoiding her. I do not vant your special attention, Hikaru." he slipped down some in his chair, appetite suddenly gone. "I'm sorry eef eet came off like ve vere... I don't..." he trailed off, words disappearing. He didn't know Sulu was into other men. If that was the case and there was something growing between them, Chekov wanted to squash it before it got out of control.

This was not going like Sulu had originally thought the day would. “That’s not why I was… I wasn’t avoiding her really, just…with the project and Hetzi..” He sighed, looking down, heart sinking. He stood up, shifting a little uncomfortably. He hated it when this happened. Sulu took a breath, sighing softly before explaining. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think anything like that. I don’t think of you that way, and I apologize for making you uncomfortable.” He paused, looking at Chekov. “I was avoiding Jale because she was being annoying, she took it the wrong way and that’s my fault. I can leave… if you want?” He didn’t want to make Chekov any more uncomfortable, even if it really hurt losing friends over this.

Chekov quickly looked over as Sulu stood up, tensing some. He listened carefully to what Sulu had to say, knowing deep down that he was telling the truth. It still hurt, however, that someone would think that way about them. Couldn't they just be friends without gossips talking behind their backs? It wasn't fair. Chekov knew life wasn't fair, but this seemed harsh.

The Russian stood up then, shaking his head. "No!" he exclaimed, before blushing at the volume of his voice. "No," he tried again, softer this time. "Don't leawe. Please." he looked up at Sulu, eyes pleading. He was like the big brother he never had. The best friend he ever had. If it was fully up to him, he would /never/ leave or let Sulu leave him.

Sulu paused, smiling a little because, yay, Chekov didn’t automatically hate him. “You sure? I don’t want to cause you any more problems.” Pav certainly had enough issues as it was, he didn’t need any of Sulu’s problems spilling over onto him.

Chekov felt his mouth turning into a smile. "Of course I'm sure," he said with a small laugh. "My problems von't keep you avay, so you're von't keep me avay." he paused, instantly frowning and ducking his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean eet zhat vay..."

Sulu scoffed a little laugh, head tilting a bit because quite honestly, he didn’t know what way Chekov meant. But as long as Pav said it was okay, he’d stay. “Alright.” He sat back down, scooting back to lean against the wall. “So what about this movie you wanted me to see?” He grinned, attempting to change the subject and/or lighten the mood. He’d have to go straighten things out with Jale soon, because leaving her on her own with that ridiculous idea was just asking for trouble, but for now Sulu would really just like to unwind. It had been a stressful day.

Chekov lit up and grabbed a padd from his desk, turning and jumping onto the bed next to Sulu. He giggled and settled down, laying his head on the Asian's shoulder. "Brozher Bear!" he exclaimed, in case Sulu had forgotten the name. He let out a soft sigh and set the movie up, placing it where they could both see it easily. "Eet's really good," he murmured, settling in.

Sulu nodded, he remembered the title but not much else. “Yes, let’s watch this movie!” He glanced over at Chekov with a grin, caught up in his enthusiasm, before getting comfortable himself. It was an adorable movie, and he loved it. Full and tired, and vaguely coughing ever now and then, he was nodding off nearly two thirds the way into the movie.

Every now and then Chekov would glance at Sulu, happy that he was enjoying the movie. He had originally been worried that it would seem too childish for the older man, but the fact that it was a cartoon didn't seem to matter. Content with the fact that Sulu was comfortable, Chekov curled up himself, watching the movie with wide eyes. It had been awhile and he had forgotten some parts.  
At one point when he looked over, he noticed that Sulu was dozing off, eyes closed. He giggled softly, considering poking him but finally deciding against it. Sulu was sick and needed all the rest he could get.

Sulu woke up feeling quite comfortable and warm, blinking around kinda confused at the unfamiliar room. He was curled up in a bundle of blankets, pillow hugged to him. He sat up slowly, barely awake, looking around.

Feeling something shift beside him, Chekov awoke, blinking. He looked over at Sulu drowsily, giving a small smile. "Morning," he murmured, a yawn following close after the greeting.

Sulu looked over at Chekov, muttering something that might have been a good morning, but was barely intelligible as English. Might not have been English, Hikaru wasn’t entirely sure.

Chekov furrowed his eyesbrows, slowly sitting up. He stared at Sulu for a few seconds more, before shrugging it off and rolling out of bed. He stretched, eyes landing on his forgotten dinner. Sulu would kill him if he saw that, but it seemed that he was mostly still half asleep so Chekov didn't worry too much about it. He turned back around, giving Hikaru a small smile. "Feeling better today?" he inquired, tilting his head.

Sulu shrugged slightly, watching Chekov. He was sorta feeling better, but he hadn’t exactly gotten up yet. He yawned, wincing a little at his sore throat, too much coughing. He stood up as well, blankets still wrapped around him as he stretched a tiny bit. Coffee. Yeah, that would help. Not help make him feel better, and probably not his cough or anything, but waking up. Yes. That was a wonderful idea.


	14. Chapter 14

Chekov bit his tongue, watching Sulu. He sure was quiet in the mornings. He hoped nothing was wrong. Trying to put his mind at ease, Chekov started putzing about, putting away things that were strewn about, straightening papers, anything to keep his hands busy. "I hope you slept vell," he was saying. "My bed ees not exactly zhe most comfortable."

Sulu watched Chekov blankly for a moment. “Was fine.” He wrinkled his nose at how that sounded, ugh. He rubbed his face with one hand, sighing a tiny bit and looking around. “Coffee?” His brain was not working right now.

Chekov looked towards Sulu. "Coffee? I'm sorry, I don't hawe any." he cringed, giving an apologetic smile. Coffee had never been a favorite of his. He'd drink it on occasion, sure, but it wasn't his go to thing. "They probably hawe some in zhe cafeteria, zhough. Vant me to run and grab some for you?"

Sulu let out a little disappointed groan. No coffee? Tragic. He didn’t really catch all of what Pav said next, just the part about there being some in the cafeteria. “Mm. Cafeteria, yes.” He nodded, tossing the blanket on the bed. “Le’s go.” He turned, heading out the door, pausing momentarily to wait for Chekov to come along too, if he wanted.

Chekov watched Sulu, surprised that he wasn't sent to fetch some himself. Sulu looked nearly ready to topple over and he would've been happy to get some coffee for him. It seemed that the decision was made, however, so Chekov walked over and stayed beside Sulu, making sure the trip to the cafeteria was safe and steady for the Asian.

Once there, the teen hovered by the door, looking around. It was early yet, and still there was a good amount of people milling about. His immediate thought was of Hetzi and Jale, but he decided to focus on Sulu for the time being. Nothing would happen with this many people around, right?

Making their way to the cafeteria, Sulu paid little to no attention to anyone, his focus solely on the energy giving beverage of magic. Most of the people in the cafeteria didn’t pay him any attention either, a few classmates smirking at the familiar sight. He wandered over to the replicator, pressing in the buttons for coffee. He stared down at the thick black sludgy goop that resulted, beyond confused. “…what?” He looked over at one of the cadets beside him questioningly.

“Somethings up with them, most beverages are coming out all mixed up. Some bug in the system, they’ve got a tech coming to work on it.” The cadet shrugged, not exceptionally concerned. Sulu sighed, wandering over to try another with much the same results. All of the old fashioned coffee makers were empty, so Sulu found himself a seat, putting his cup of sludge on the table, and slumped over on the table face down. This academy was the worst.

Chekov watched Sulu as he stared down in his cup, exchanged a few words with a classmate, then moved on to another machine. Confused, Chekov made his way forward as Hikaru plopped down. He frowned, sliding in beside the man and rubbing his back gently. "Vhat's vrong?" he asked, curiously peering into the cup. His nose scrunched up at the sight of the sludge. "Oh. Somezhing's up vith zhe replicators?"

Sulu muttered some not very nice words in Japanese before turning his head slightly to look at Chekov. “…there’s no coffee. The day is ruined. This place is horrible.” He might have been overplaying it a bit. Or a lot. But they’d come all the way here, and for nothing.

Chekov tilted his head as Sulu muttered something. He couldn't quite catch it and he briefly wondered if there were some words he didn't know. That wouldn't be possible, however, as he had taken a full language class on English. In depth. Still, there were always some words that you just didn't know. It was made clear that it was probably some other language as Sulu turned to speak in English again. Chekov frowned again. "Zhat bad, huh?" he questioned, before rising to his feet. "Vell, maybe zhere ees somezhing I can do." without waiting for any sort of reply, he turned and made his way to one of the replicators. He looked at it a few seconds before carefully taking the top off and peering in. If his knowledge was correct, each device was linked to each other. If one wire was unplugged or fried, every machine was down. Everything seemed to be in order at this replicator, so he moved onto another. Out of the corner of his eye he could see people staring at him, confusion written clearly on their faces. Chekov took a deep breath and tried his best to ignore them, continuing at his task. After a few more minutes he finally found the problem and was ready to fix it, except he didn't have the right tools. "Karu!" he called over to the Asian, feeling a small blush creep up as that sent a round of whispering at a nearby table. "C-could you go get zhe toolbox from my room?"

He’d watched Chekov wandering from machine to machine, not really sure what the kid was doing. He shrugged it off, not having the energy to really thing about it. At Chekov’s request, he shrugged again, getting up and making his way back to Chekov’s room. It was slow going, he really had zero energy, and as he got there and looked around the room he realized he actually had no idea where to look for said toolbox. He let out a sighed curse, beginning to shuffle around looking. On the upside, he was more awake now.

Only a few minutes after Sulu had left did the words start coming. "Hey, Pipsqueak!" someone shouted, causing Chekov to turn back from examining the replicator. "How'd last night go? I heard you and Sulu /spent the night together/." the remark was followed by a chorus of giggles. Chekov blushed, frowning deeply and chose to ignore the cadet, turning back to his work. "Must've stayed up pretty late, too," someone else chimed in. "Did you see how tired Sulu looked?" more laughter. Chekov was beet red at this point, hands starting to shake.

“Is that how you been getting such good grades? Makes sense.” There were a few snickers at that, one girl speaking up quickly. “He’s even got Sulu fetching things for him.”

“Pipsqueak there couldn’t keep his hands off Sulu. I’ve seen em together! They even had a ‘private classroom’ for some ‘project’.”

The statements weren't even making sense to him anymore and yet they stung. Chekov's heart was racing now and he felt lightheaded. Why did they have to say such things? Couldn't they just leave him alone? "I heard that the kid missed a few classes earlier this week, too! I wonder why..."

"Yeah, I heard that too. Sulu was going around getting his assignments...”

“I saw the pipsqueak going to Sulu’s room couple days ago. Bet I can guess what /they/ got up to.” The entire group laughed at that, looking over at Chekov.

Eventually Sulu found what he hoped was the tools Chekov wanted, and headed back to the cafeteria. He raised an eyebrow and a cadet who was smirking at him, not really sure what the guy was so smug about. The cafeteria was a lot noisier than he remembered, though it quieted pretty quickly, more or less, as he walked in. He made his way over to Chekov, toolbox in hand, holding it out and giving a look to a group that were trying and failing to hide their laughter. “…I missed something. Didn’t I?” He commented to Chekov.

The insults finally ceased coming after a while and for a moment Chekov was scared as to what that meant. He jumped as Sulu silently appeared beside him, taking the tool box after he had recovered. There were tears rolling down his cheeks and he quickly wiped them away, hoping Sulu hadn't seen. "Eet vas nozhing..." he murmured, though his thick voice and shaking frame begged to differ. He didn't say anything else, though, simply opened the box, grabbed what he needed, and started to repair the replicator.

Sulu frowned, leaning against a counter as Chekov worked, watching the now whispering group. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.” He grumbled, noticing Chekov’s tone and shaking. Whatever he’d missed hadn’t been anything good. He coughed roughly, sniffing and crossing his arms. “Really, don’t let me interrupt. Please go on with whatever you were doing before I came in.” He addressed the still giggling group, tone irate for all that his voice as a bit scratchy. He doubted anyone here would start an /actual/ fight with him, though he would very happily participate at this point.

As expected, the group fell silent, only one or two of them holding his gaze. He might catch some backlash from it later, but here in the middle of the day in a very full cafeteria… Yeah, fairly safe. Especially as some maintenance crew finally showed up. Two of them headed over to a different machine, a third coming over near them, slight frown on his face as he regarded Chekov. “Come on kid, I don’t care what you’re studying, you’re not authorized to be tinkering with the replicators. You wanna cause an accident?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. 
> 
>  
> 
> Not really, I jest.  
> But it is the end of what is already written. So, yeah. That's why it's kinda short.   
> Hopefully the story will soon continue!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The slowest updates in the history of ever. That's this story. But it continues!!

Chekov shrugged in reply to Sulu and fell silent, trying to concentrate on his work. It really wasn't hard. Just a few loose wires here and there. It would've been a lot easier had his fingers cooperated, however, but instead they chose to tremble. Chekov bit his lip and started to put the panel back on as the maintenance workers arrived. He glanced at them for a moment and stepped to the side. "Eet should vork now," he replied simply, choosing to ignore their reprimands.

The maintenance guy gave Chekov a sideways glance before moving over to check the machine. He was somewhat surprised it was functional, and repaired well even. He huffed, giving Sulu and Chekov an irate thin-lipped glance. “Next time leave the repairs to us. It’s our job. Should write you both up for tampering with the replicators.” 

Sulu raised a brow at that, but the guy just shook his head and went to inform his companions before heading off to what was likely their next job. 

“He sounds like me when I don’t have coffee.” Sulu joked, trying to lighten the mood with a smirk at Chekov. The other cadets were starting to line up by the replicators now that they were fixed. Taking advantage of already being basically first in line for this one, Sulu went ahead and got his coffee. “You want anything?” He asked while waiting for the coffee to appear.

Chekov nodded, watching the maintenance men go. His fear dwindled some with the knowledge that they weren't going to be reported. He thought they would be pleased that the job was done and they had less to do, but apparently Pavel had assumed wrong. He looked at Sulu and thought for awhile. He wasn't really hungry yet, but he knew Sulu would want him to eat something. Still, nothing really seemed appetizing so he decided that he'd skip breakfast and just eat a large lunch or dinner. 

"No, I'm good," he stated, really just wanting to leave. His bed was beginning to sound super cozy right about now... "And by zhe vay," he added, forcing a smile in hopes the jest would make him feel better. "You are vorse zhan zhem vizhout coffee."

Sulu snorted, shaking his head and taking the coffee. “I’d try and deny it, but pretty sure I’ve heard it from more than just you.” He commented, heading out of the cafeteria. He sipped at the coffee carefully as he walked, feeling wide awake by now but, hey, it was coffee.

He headed to the lounge, not really wanting to be in his room at the moment. He was feeling better, and the fresh air was nice. He was content to drink his coffee for a while and relax, maybe go out get some errands done later. “Thanks for fixing the machine, and for the company.” He glanced over at Chekov, pausing by the lounge doors. “I’m probably just going to hang out here for a while, wait for Jale to show.” Sulu knew she was probably still looking for him after all. “I’ve got class tonight and tomorrow, plus the exams coming up. If you want we can hang Saturday?”

Chekov walked beside Sulu, glad to finally be leaving. He had fully expected Hikaru to head back to his quarters for more rest, but apparently he had other plans. He was definitely surprised when Sulu actually _thanked_ him for his time. Despite having hung out many times, Chekov still had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that someone actually _wanted_ to spend time with him. It was very confusing. "You're velcome?" he replied as more of a question. 

"I like to hang out vith you." he smiled and looked into the lounge for a few seconds, before his gaze returned to Sulu again. "I vill vait vith you," he stated, not really wanting to leave him yet. He pushed the door open and slowly walked in, only to pause a few feet in. The thought that had been bugging him the last few hours arose again, and only Sulu could resolve it. "Karu..." he began, turning to the Asian. He avoided eye contact, simply focusing on the the windows behind him. "About Jale... Are you going to clear zhe er, assumption up?"

Sulu’s eyes narrowed slightly, nodding shortly. Oh yes, he was certainly going to clear that up. He and Jale were supposed to be friends, and he needed her to know that spreading rumors like that was most certainly _not_ appreciated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure her and the rest of the gang get it straight.” It was probably going to spark an argument, Jale just had that kind of temperament. Sulu turned to face Chekov, taking another drink and thinking. It’d probably be best to have _that_ particular argument without the kid around. He was jumpy enough without having to sit through what could easily turn into a sass match of snide comments and insults. Besides, embarrassing Jale in front of Chekov was sure to set her off, and while Sulu was feeling better than he had been, he knew he was not up to dealing with a yelling Jale. 

“Don’t worry about it though. And you don’t have to wait with me if you don’t want to. I mean, you can, more than welcome to.. It’s just..” Sulu shrugged slightly, giving Chekov an apologetic smile. “She can have a short temper on a bad day, and I don’t think she’d exactly appreciate me calling her out in front of a new friend.” 

Chekov hesitated. He knew what it was like having to deal with someone who had a temper. Probably knew that better than anyone else. Things escalated quickly, punches were normally thrown... It was a rough experience, that was sure. While it was odd -- and really comforting if he would admit it -- that Sulu was looking out for him, Chekov wasn't entirely sure if he knew what he was getting himself into, even if he _was_ friends with Jale. 

"Are you sure you vill be alright alone? I mean..." he trailed off, gaze drifting. The only thing that kept him from insisting to stay was Hikaru's last point. It was a very good one: new friend plus confrontation never went well. Chekov really didn't mind that, but Jale probably would and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, didn't want to break her and Sulu's friendship. 

Sulu’s brow furrowed for a moment considering Chekov’s choice of words. Maybe he was being overly paranoid, though who could blame him considering the whole incident with Hetzi, but it almost sounded like Pav was worried about him. “I’ll be fine. Really, Jale probably won’t even be all that mad. I don’t plan on starting a fight, just… she has her days. Worst that’ll happen is she’ll yell and curse at me and storm off. We’d make up later over take out. It’s happened more than once.”

Hikaru burrowed more snuggly into his seat, fully intending on just zoning out with his coffee once Chekov left. Jale was easy to spot, so it wasn’t like he’d have a lot of trouble seeing her coming. And since he’d been dodging her the past couple days, she’d jump at the chance to talk to him if she saw him. “I’ll probably head back to my room after, maybe nap. Take the rest of the week off and hopefully I’ll feel better this weekend.” He might even cave and go to medical in the morning, but he wasn’t ready to really commit to that just yet. 

Chekov nodded, feeling no better about the whole thing. "Okay..." he replied quietly. He remained a few minutes longer, fighting the urge to stay. "I vill see you later?" he questioned, tilting his head some. Before waiting for an actual answer, he gave Hikaru a light smile and stepped away, leaving before he had a chance to impose further. 

Sulu said he and Jale had fought before and made up. It would be okay. Everything would be fine. But what if it wasn't? What if it was Pavel's fault? What if Sulu suddenly turned on him because Jale refused to be friends again?

Chekov bit his tongue, burying his hands deep into his pockets. He would prepare himself for that. He knew it would come sooner than later and it may as well happen now before he got too comfortable.  
Before fully registering it, he found himself out of Sulu's room. He stared at the door code for a long while, deep in thought. He had broken into his own room before, after some students thought it would be funny to lock him out and watch him panic. It was against regulations but Hikaru wouldn't mind, right? 

Chekov wrestled with himself for a couple minutes, before finally moving closer and trying to get in. It took a few tries but eventually he got it and slipped in, quickly closing the door behind him. His heart was pounding as he leaned against the door. He could get kicked out for this. He could so easily get kicked out. Chekov swallowed, stiffly moving to the bed. He wanted to know if Jale and Sulu made up, but he felt like that wasn't the real reason he was here. He flopped onto the bed and curled up under the covers, curling into a tight ball. He thought about why he was here and started to relax in the warmth of the blankets. Sulu's smell was strong, and it comforted him. Chekov sighed absently as he slowly started to drift asleep. At the same time, the puzzle piece fell into its place.

The reason he was here was because he didn't want to be alone again. He was so tired of being alone. Sulu accepted him, and while he still didn't fully believe it, he was willing to accept it in the moment and he wasn't going to let it go.

Hikaru nodded absently, not too worried about how Chekov basically booked it out of there. The kid had offered to see him again later. Or, at least he’d asked, even if he hadn’t stuck around for a response. Still, for Sulu’s increasingly tired brain, it amounted to the same. 

As planned, Hikaru just zoned out whilst he waited. Happily, it wasn’t too long before Jale appeared, at least it didn't seem long to Sulu, spotted him, and headed over. Sulu waved at Jale as she came closer, offering her the seat Chekov had been sitting in earlier. “Hey Jale. Heard you been lookin for me. Didn’t mean to blow you off.”

Jale curled up in the offered seat, smiling at him. “No no, it’s fine. I completely understand.”

“Yeah, bout that.” Sulu sighed, leaning sideways tiredly. “I’m not feeling all that great, and you know how I am when I’m sick, so I’ll get straight to the point. Me and Chekov aren’t a ‘thing’. For one, he’s thirteen. So, no.”

Jale tilted her head at that, thinking. “That is young, for you humans, isn’t it.”

“Yeah. So you see my point there.” Sulu agreed, giving her a pointed look. “And even if he weren’t, I don’t even think he’s interested in guys. So, if you could just stop that little rumor train. And actively discourage it. That would be nice.”

Jale gazed at him wordless for a moment, one finger tapping her chin. “Of course. We wouldn’t want anyone thinking you are some unsavory person would we?” A grin formed on her face as she laughed at him teasingly, that laugher increasing at the tired scowl she got in return. “Of course Suu, I’ll do it.”

Sulu’s scowl remained in place at the sound of his lease favorite nickname and he stood up. “Great, glad we all understand.” He huffed, pushing the empty cup he still held for some reason into Jale’s hands. He'd already decided to skip out on the rest of classes today, he just wasn't feeling well enough for it. “I’m going to go sleep now.”

He heard her snickering as he left, but didn’t turn around. Instead, he headed straight back to his room, already beyond exhausted. Stupid, defective coffee… wasn’t doing crap to keep him awake and energized. Which, now that he was at his room, was perfectly fine. 

He didn’t turn on any lights as he went in, just trudged straight over to his bed and curled up, not even noticing the lump under the blankets. He was too tired, head pounding again, and within seconds he was passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading back through this... there are some inconsistencies with the story and timeline and stuff but... I just don't feel like going back over and fixing it right now. Perchance another day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter! Just because I can.

Chekov barely moved when Sulu rolled into bed. He curled closer to the man, but didn't register it was another human. Instead he slept soundly, waking up only when the sun started to shine through the window. He yawned and stretched slightly, peeking his head from out of the covers. He looked over at Sulu groggily, debating whether he should wake him up or not. He decided it would scare the Asian and giggled quietly. He proceeded to tap him on the shoulder. "Karuu," he whispered close to the man's ear. "Karuuuuuu. Vake up." 

Sulu mumbled something unintelligible, swatting clumsily at the breath tickling his ear. Sleepy and uncoordinated, he came nowhere near his target. He did not feel like waking up right now. Instead, he curled up tighter, grabbing his pillow and burying his face in it. Hikaru knew he’d definitely need to go to medical, but right now he was too tired and a bit queasy to get up. Sleeping more sounded much more appealing.

Chekov frowned, easily dodging the swat. He waited a few moments as Sulu shifted, hoping the man wuld get up, but nothing more happened.

More determined than ever, Chekov carefully climbed on top of Hikaru, half curled around him. "Karu vake uup!" he tried again, a bit louder. "I zhought you vould be surprised to see me here." 

“I’m ‘wake…” Sulu mumbled sleepily, not at all bothered by Chekov’s slight weight on top of him. It was like an extra blanket, albeit a boney one. “Super s’prised.”

Chekov smiled, pleased to finally have gotten a reaction. He was about to settle back down when he caught a glimpse of Sulu's face. He pulled the cover away a bit more to see him clearer, and bit his tongue. "You are so so pale," he commented, brows furrowed with worry. "Are you okay? Ve should go to zhe doctor..." he trailed off. Sulu had been sick, yes, but yesterday had gone fine. It was only a cold. Right?

Sulu peeked one eye open, letting out a little groan. “But that would mean I have to get up…” He complained, closing his eyes again. He gave a short little sigh. “…probably should though. Hate being sick…” If it was a virus or something, they’d be able to treat it most likely. If it was just a cold, they’d at least give him something to let him feel better. 

"Zhen I vill go and bring someone here." Chekov rolled off of Sulu and crawled off the bed. He shoved some curls out of his face and straightened his uniform. He really had to stop sleeping in it so many times. 

He started to the door, then looked back at Sulu. "Do doctors ewen make house calls?" he asked. He had always either gone to get checked out or not gone at all. Never called one to him. 

Nope. Nope, nope. That was not a plan of which Hikaru was a fan. Whatever doctor it was would probably assume the worse, like Sulu was just completely incapable of moving or something. Then the doc would come here, and probably launch into some huge lecture when he saw it was just some stupid cold and Sulu was just being lazy. “I’m up, I’m up, awake and off to med-“ His mumbling was cut short as he flailed around, trying to get up to hurry after Chekov and instead getting himself tangled and basically rolling right off the bed onto the floor. 

Chekov flinched when Sulu started to flail. He hadn't meant to make things worse. As soon as the Asian was on the floor, however, he started giggling. "Zhat is one vay to get you up," he teased, moving forward to help untangle him from the blankets. 

Sulu gave him a light scowl once he was free enough to sit up. “Not a nice trick.” He huffed. He rubbed his hands over his face, running them through his hair a second later. He was awake, yeah, but the adrenaline from falling off the bed had given him a splitting headache. 

Chekov blinked. "..It vas not a trick, ve really are going to zhe doctor's," he replied, gently nudging Sulu's arm. "If it is ewen possible, you look vorse now." he frowned, eager to get Sulu checked out as soon as possible. 

Sulu nodded slowly. “Oh, well, that’s good then. Cuz that’s not at all a good prank.” He’d had enough problem teaching that point to Jale. Pranks were supposed to be fun, they weren’t supposed to really scare someone or hurt them in anyway. At worst, they’d confuse the target, maybe frustrate them, but that was about it. 

After a moment, he pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly as his head swam. Once he was positive he wouldn’t fall after taking a step, he looked over at Chekov, grinning slightly. “Yeah, seeing a doc sounds like a great idea.”

Chekov shook his head. "I vould newer prank you like zhat," he said firmly, immediately plastering himself to Sulu's side. He tried to keep the man steady, an arm wrapped around his waist. He half wondered if he was making things worse by trying to help, but decided that this was better than just standing by the side. "Zhe doctor should not be far," he stated. "But if you need to sit down, let me know, okay?" 

“I’ll be fine getting there, just not all that energetic in the mornings.” Sulu assured, trudging his way out the door and down the hall. Medical wasn’t his favorite place to go, but if it meant not being sick he’d pay it a visit. Still, it felt like forever before they finally arrived, a nurse taking Sulu’s information and helping to get him settled. Sulu kicked his feet in boredom as he sat on a bed. It didn’t look too terribly busy in here, so hopefully the doctor would be over soon and they could get out of here. And maybe find food. Assuming the doctor gave him something to help his stomach.


End file.
